Blue Romance
by MistedVines
Summary: AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix? Sakura/Itachi/Sasuke/Deidara/Sai
1. Monster Girl

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter One: Monster Girl

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Sakura sat at her desk, keeping her head down as Ino stepped into the room, flanked by her groupies. It was an unspoken rule at Konohagakure high--look at Ino and never look at anything again. Konohagakure was an all-female school, one noted for its high intelligence rate and the sheer size of it's campus. Without money or class, one could only rely on brains to get them in through the high brass gate.

Haruno Sakura was one of those students, better known as 'blue students', for the blue ties they were required to wear to show that they were students coming to the school on a scholarship. Blue students were the equivalent of slaves on campus, required to run any errand asked of them by a regular (or red tie) student.

Sakura had been going to this school for almost an entire year and she hadn't made any friends, nor was she happy. Including her there was a total of six blue students. And each of them had a different schedule and time scan. Sakura had only seen one in passing about a month prior.

Ino settled into her seat and the talking slowly resumed, Sakura pulled out her sketch pad. Her pencil moved over the pad in a smooth continuous motion. The teacher came in and began the lesson, though it seemed as though no one was bothering to listen. When the teacher left the room Sakura resumed her drawing. She stiffened as hot breath washed over her neck, followed by a soft chuckle. "What are you drawing, blue?"

Sakura didn't answer as she ducked her head down farther, curling up on herself. "Wow Ino, it looks like she was drawing you!"

Indeed Sakura had been -- no matter how much she hated Ino, she couldn't deny the girl was a beauty, and during the assembly the week prior Ino and her classmates had put on the routine show. The month earlier the acting squad had put on a play, but the week before Ino and her ballet class had done a performance. Sakura had always wanted to dance--holding back because of her extreme clumsiness.

So she drew instead, loving being able to recreate the beauty of dance. A hand reached forward, touching the drawing gently. "Not bad, I mean, I don't think I've ever been that ugly, but what the heck." Sakura's ears burned as she closed her eyes in shame. "What's your name, blue?"

"Haruno S-Sakura," she whispered instantly, not raising her head.

"Sakura eh?" The first voice came back in, a hand tugging at her hair. "It fits!"

"Well Sakura," Ino moved forward, tugging her drawing pad from the protective embrace of her arms and sitting on her desk. "I have an errand for you. In return I wont burn this pretty little book of yours. What do you say?"

Sakura nodded, her long bangs hiding most of her face as she titled her head up slightly. "Of c-course." She said, her voice almost silent.

"Good! Here you go, take this to Sasuke Uchiha at Otogakure."

Sakura froze, her hand beginning to shake as she held onto the letter Ino had handed her. Otogakure was a violent school -- while not nearly as violent as Sunagakure, it was well known that one mistake and you'd wind up with all your teeth needing to be replaced.

"Have a problem, blue?" The second girl, Kin, asked loudly, the hand that had been tugging softly on her hair suddenly turned harsh and Sakura clenched her teeth in pain.

"N-no."

"Wonderful, see you later Sakura!" Ino stood, leaving the room with Sakura's book tucked under one arm. Sakura watched the girls leave, tears burning in her eyes. She was going to be late for her piano lessons, not to mention that she was probably not going to escape Otogakure without a bruise or two. Hopefully she'd still have all her body parts attached.

There were a few sympathetic glances from other students as she stood, shaking hands putting her books back into her bag and closing it. The teacher didn't say anything as she left the room, touching her once gently on the shoulder as she left before resuming the lesson. Sakura stopped by her locker to get her small bottle of mace that her mother had given her.

She slipped the bottle into her pocket and took out a pen, it being the best weapon she had on hand. Taking a soft shuddering breath Sakura closed her locker, looking down the hall to the doors that lead out of the school through a fringe of light pink bangs.

Sakura had always been teased about her large forehead growing up, which was one of the reasons for her nonexistent courage and low self-esteem. It was also the reason that her 'bangs' nearly reached her chin and completely obscured her face. It made it harder to see, but after nearly eight years of such long bangs she had grown used to them.

It was a warm day, the first signs that spring was coming to a close and summer was fast approaching--it also meant that Sakura had completed a whole year. Three more and she was finished. Three more years and she could run from this place as fast and far as she wanted. And oh she wanted it.

Otogakure was a large building with a strange forbidding aura surrounding it, Sakura stood before the gate, her breathing coming in small breathy pants. She would be killed! But--if she went back without delivering it, Ino would do worse than kill her.

Sakura moved to the gate, thankful that classes were still in session, little to no students were in the large halls. Those that were eyed her with a sort of bored interest. Sakura all but ran to the office, hoping that perhaps she could leave the letter with a teacher that might pass it on to Sasuke. She never wanted to meet with him--they say normal students that met with more than one leader always seemed to have a way of disappearing.

It was bad enough Ino had taken an 'interest' in her, the last thing she needed now was Sasuke or his cronies to think she was annoying. The small woman behind the counter, who's eyes shifted and looked as though she hadn't gotten good sleep since she started this job, shook her head rapidly when asked to take the letter.

"I'm sorry, but no. You'll have to take it."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes again and she nodded, clenching a hand around her blue tie. "Could y-y-you tell me what c-class he's in?"

The woman nodded sharply, scanning through her computer and giving Sakura directions when she found it. "Good luck," the woman told her softly, and Sakura looked up briefly to flash a small fearful smile in thanks.

The halls were long but not complicated and Sakura soon found the class, standing before the door as she waited for the courage to knock. Her whole hand shook as she lifted it, and she couldn't make a fist, every muscle in her hand having long fled in terror. She let her hand fall to the door with a soft knock and then ducked out of the way.

A tall black-haired man with thick glasses opened the door, looking her over. "U-Uchiha S-Sas-Sasuke?"

He nodded and turned back to peer into the classroom. "Uchiha-sama, there's someone here for you."

Sakura was used to the teacher's respect for the student leaders--it was deadly not to be. Teachers didn't get it from them nearly as much as students, but that meant nothing if they spoke back. Sakura could hear cat calls from in the classroom and her tremors returned full force and she kept her head down staring at her worn shoes.

"What is it?" The teacher disappeared back into the classroom, door shutting softly behind him; Sakura didn't look up as she held the letter out, hearing a small chuckle at the way it shook. "Ino, eh?"

He tore the letter open and scanned it, Sakura waiting to be dismissed, longing to be in the dark seclusion of her room, or pouring her heart and soul into her piano. Sakura blinked when the letter fluttered to the ground and Sasuke began grinding his teeth so loud she could hear it. Before she had time to react his fist was twisting into her uniform and he had slammed her into the lockers.

Sakura cried out, head connecting painfully with the metal, breathing labored as she waited for the boy's next move. "You still haven't looked at me, blue." He said, voice a deadly whisper. "Is this your idea of a bad joke?" His fingers twisted tighter and he forced her into the lockers harder.

Sakura's breath hitched and she finally realized that Ino had set her up. "N-n-no! In-Ino s-said it was f-for yo-you!"

"Is that right?" Slowly his grip relaxed and Sakura slid slowly down the lockers, her stomach twisted in knots. "Look at me, idiot." She slowly looked up at the most handsome boy she'd ever seen. He smirked and leaned in closer, his breath puffing his bangs. "You look like a dog. I can't even see your face, what is this?" He tugged at her bangs and laughed lightly when she began shivering again. "I'm guessing you did something that made Ino angry?"

Sakura shrugged helplessly, not knowing what he wanted to hear. He released her hair and pulled back, moving to the classroom.

"You're lucky today. I'm feeling generous." Without another word he entered the classroom and Sakura collapsed to the floor, her legs unable to support her any longer. As soon as she had regained her bearings Sakura scooped up the crumbled letter and ran, faster than she ever had in her life, back to the school and away from Otogakure. She hoped she'd never see the building again in her life.

Once in the school she ran to her class, throwing the crumpled remains of the letter at Ino's feet and waiting for the girl's reaction. Sakura's hair was mused, her throat red where Sasuke has pushed his fist into it. The top buttons of her shirt were missing and her blue tie was torn.

"Well, well. I see you were well received," Ino said loudly, flicking her long nails across her skirt as if to clean it. "The reply?"

"He as-asked i-if it w-was my-my idea-a of a b-bad joke."

"Don't stutter." Ino snapped as she stood, picking the letter up and licking her lighter under it. The paper caught and began to burn, the flame growing stronger the more paper it ate. "Or I'll burn you hair like this paper. Kin! Bring me that stupid book."

Kin threw it to the blonde and flicked back her long hair, waiting to see what would happen. Ino caught the book, throwing the burning paper to the floor at Sakura's feet. She flipped through the pages, stopping at the drawing of herself, ripping the page slowly from the book.

"You know, Sakura, I've been studying this and I think I like it." She laughed and dropped the book to the floor once she had torn the page from it. "Do you know what that means?"

Sakura shook her head, "n-no."

"I said not to stutter didn't I?" She stepped on the drawing pad, twisting it under her foot. "That means my sweet little blossom. That I like you--and from now on, you're going to be my pet. Doesn't that sound fun? Be a good girl and I'll reward you," she set the picture down gently as if to show an example. "Disobey," she kicked the pad over to Tenten who picked it up. "And I'll destroy you." Tenten tore the pad in half, the girls shrieking with laughter. "Got it?"

Sakura took a deep breath, concentrating on not stuttering. "Yes."

"Very good, come here Sakura, sit at my feet." Sakura did so, head hanging in shame. Ino petted her hair, twisting the silky strands under her fingers. "Your hair is soft," the girl mused aloud and grabbed Sakura's face, tilting it up towards her. "You really look like a monster with all that hair." Ino snickered, "I own a monster!"

Sakura cried silently when Ino let her head fall back to her chest, her ears ringing with the mocking laughter of the girls around her.

"Well Sakura, you can walk me to my car today, and I'll teach you how to walk behind your master, tomorrow be at school by six and wait for me by the gate." Ino smiled chillingly. "I hear it's going to be cold. Don't bring a coat."

"Yes."

"Perfect, come on Sakura." Sakura stood, and Ino showed her where to walk, a little to the side and behind her, like some trailing slave. Sakura bit her lip as girls in the hall pointed, whispering in hushed tones, some laughing others sighing pityingly. Sakura wished Sasuke had killed her. Death would be a blessing in comparison to this humiliation.

"Bye Ino," the red-haired girl said loudly, waving from her car as the chauffeur bowed and helped her into the car.

"Tayuya, see you tomorrow," Ino called back in reply.

The girl grinned and winked at Sakura. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Sakura." Ino said sharply as the door to her car was opened for her. "Remember what I told you, and also what will happen if you disobey." She patted Sakura's head, anything but gentle as she came down to rub the pale head of hair. Then, in a mocking display of affection she kissed Sakura's forehead, pale eyes like steel. "Bye, monster."

Sakura watched her go, and it was like watching all her hopes and seeing her three years of being invisible fly away after the sleek black car. Sakura turned and began walking home, sighing loudly.

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Ah ha, ha! Anyway, freakish tendencies aside, this was indeed the first chapter! Who will Sakura end up with--how will she survive?! I have no idea xD

And don't tell me their out of character: AU. Means their bound to be out of character. Isn't that why you clicked?

_**MistedVines**_

Remember to review, my minions! And get me a bagel while you're at it!

**Thanks:** _MoonVeil_, for helping me write and stabbing me with a spork whenever I lost focus. And _Kara-chan.a _for betaing it. Please point out anything she's missed and I'll be sure to slap her :3


	2. Laying Down The Rules

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Two: Laying Down The Rules

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Sakura didn't sleep much that night, her heart heavy with doubt. Her parents couldn't afford to move now, not after her father had just received a transfer; they were doing better than they'd ever done. To move now would destroy everything they'd been pushing for since Sakura was a child. The girl sighed, throwing back her covers and sliding her feet into slippers lying in wait beside her bed.

Shrugging a soft robe over her nightgown she padded into the hall and down the stairs, careful not to make sound. She stopped at the base of the stairs, seeking out the clock that told her the time was nearly four am. She turned, moving to the back of the corridor to the French sliding doors that opened without sound. She slid them back together before turning the give her most prized possession a smile.

A grand piano.

The one her grandmother had left to her when she died. Sakura sat down on the cushioned bench, lifting the cover and running her fingers along the smooth keys. She began to play, her fingers sliding with practiced ease along the keys, her shoulders moving in time with the stretching of her hands.

Her mother had once told her grandmother, when she had first heard Sakura play, that the girl's music had sounded like drowning. It wasn't until much later that Sakura had understood; no matter how joyful a tune she played, when it was her going over the notes, they came out tragically, smothering anyone who listened in unhappiness. So she had stopped playing for other people, instead she poured herself into her music, alone.

Sakura continued to play, sometimes mixing songs together and ending one abruptly, only to pick up another in the middle. The sun had risen and filled the room with light when her mother slid the doors open, frowning when she saw Sakura at the piano.

"Sakura?"

The girl lifted her hands, though the piano continued to sing a last mournful note. "Yes, mother?"

"You should go take a shower now, your father is leaving later today so he can give you a ride to school if you want?"

"Thank you," Sakura stood, putting down the cover and sliding the bench back under the piano. "I'll go take the shower now."

The woman nodded, moving aside stiffly. Sakura had never been very close to the woman -- she hadn't been since the day her father brought the woman home and introduced her as Sakura's new mother. Shortly after that her grandmother had stopped coming by, and had nearly won Sakura in a custody battle that had spun on for months.

Her "new mother" was actually her father's mistress, one he'd been seeing for about two years. It was over this woman that her mother had killed herself and that Sakura's life had nearly been ended as well.

Sakura's mother had probably known all along that her father was entering an affair with the pretty woman, and that said woman was rapidly taking over her mother's place in his heart, but Iko Haruno was a stubborn woman and she continued on with her life. Until Sakura's younger brother was cruelly taken from them one morning. One moment Sakura was holding his hand as they walked to school and the next he was sagging to the ground, having been struck by a bullet not meant for him.

During that time, when they were still struggling to get off their feet, a poor family living in a bad neighborhood, gang violence was nothing new. That was, until they had suddenly lost someone to it. Sakura's mother faded after that, never recovering from the loss of her smallest child - and when her father came forward not three months later, having opened a lease on a new apartment in a small rural area, and asking for a divorce, she simply was lost.

The idea of loosing Sakura to her father in court was Iko's driving force as she took Sakura's hand and led her into the back bedroom, fingers clenched tightly around the sleek gun resting in her palm. Locking the door the woman had turned to the small child, who already was beginning to be as beautiful as her mother.

She smoothed silky pink hair from the girl's eyes. "_It's okay, Sakura_," she told her, placing the gun at the center of the child's forehead. "_Mommy will protect you. No one will take you away._"

The small girl stared up at the woman in absolute terror - she was no fool - her life was about to end, but the instinct that her mother would _never_ hurt her rooted her to the carpet, unable to move away. Only when the woman's fingers began to clinch tight around the trigger did she move, flinching away from the cold metal.

The sound of the gun exploded within her head and the pain that blossomed across her shoulder was nauseating. Iko stilled, looking down on her child who was now sobbing, small fingers pressing against the quickly growing bloodstain on her white shirt. Stumbling back, tears in her eyes she reached out to the child. "_Sakura, Sakura I'm so sorry._"

The girl's cries grew louder, until she was screaming hysterically for help. Iko's face fell as she gently rubbed a hand over Sakura's pale cheek. "_Mommy wanted you to come too, Sakura. Sorry, honey._" The woman pressed the gun to her head, smiling when Sakura's dark eyes turned up to stare at her.

Sakura panted, fighting her stomach urge to empty itself, the cold shower water flaring goose bumps over her skin. Blood, too much blood. She hated the sight of it still, to this day. Her hand rose to her shoulder, fingering the scar there, where the bullet had nearly ended her life. No matter how much time passed, she knew she'd never forget the feeling of her mother's blood on her.

The girl twisted the knobs, reaching for a towel, drying off, making sure not to look at herself in the foggy mirrors. Since that day Sakura had grown out her hair and hidden away from mirrors.

She looked too much like her mother.

Sakura pulled on her uniform, slowly feeding the buttons through the holes. Her mother knocked softly at the door, and the girl could hear her slippers whisper across the hardwood floors. "Sakura?"

"I'm finished," the girl replied, brushing her hair harshly so that it lay limply over her face. Water dripped down pale pink strands onto a small nose. She opened the door, staring at her step-mother's feet rather than meet the woman's eyes.

"Breakfast is almost ready." She bit her lip and tried to reach out to Sakura. "You'll catch a cold if you leave your hair like that, Sakura."

"It's fine," Sakura answered automatically, visibly flinching away from the kind hand. "I'm not hungry either."

The woman retracted her hand and smiled sadly at the girl. "I'll pack your lunch then?"

"I'd rather buy something, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, Sakura. If that's what you would prefer." Giving the girl one last pitying look, her mother walked back to the kitchen to finish with breakfast. Sakura didn't hate the woman, she was just no longer capable of loving another person. Fate had given Sakura a shitty life and she was determined to make the most of it - tucked away safely in her shell.

She descended the narrow stairs slowly, nodding a polite hello to her father along the way. Gathering her books and stuffing them into her bag she allowed her hair to dry slowly, ignoring the cold drops of water that slipped down her spine. Remembering Ino's command she ignored her jacket when he father walked out to warm up the car.

It _was_ cold. Her breath fanned before her in a small cloud and her still-wet hair began to freeze at the tips. Her school's short uniform skirt left her legs bare to the cold air as well. Her father blinked at her as she sat down on the warmed seat beside him, enjoying the feel of the heater on her face. "Sakura you'll catch a cold," he admonished gently, "where's your coat?"

"I don't need one, dad. It's fine."

He gave her a dubious look and then relented, shifting the car into gear and rolling down the driveway. The drive was filled with the empty silence that had hung over them since Sakura's childhood. Ino was waiting for her it seemed, lounged against the school's main gate, her eyebrows raising as she spotted Sakura. With a smirk the girl waved at her, and her father's surprise was turned on her a moment later. "You're friends with Ino Yamanaka?"

Sakura shook her head, quickly getting out of the car. "Not really. Bye dad."

"Sakura--" she shut the door quickly, ignoring the pained look he gave her as she turned away, the air instantly reminding her of how little she wore.

"Monster girl, so glad you made it." Ino brushed Sakura's limp hair from her face affectionately, smiling cheerily. "I've been waiting. Come on."

Sakura mutely followed the girl, remaining silent though the whispers around her seemed to burn through her flesh. Ino stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the person blocking the hall. "Konan," the blonde hissed, looking displeased.

Sakura carefully looked over Ino's shoulder at the beautiful girl standing ahead of them. A large paper flower was tucked carefully into glossy black hair, and her large, dark eyes were framed with thick lashes. Her heart caught in her throat, Sakura could only stare at the unbelievable beauty before them. "Still playing children's games, Ino?" the girl asked, voice bordering on a sneer.

"Back off, _Konan_," the girl's name was like acid on Ino's tongue. "It's not your place to question me!"

Despite Ino's venom, Sakura could sense her fear of the older girl before them and when Konan began to walk again, Ino stiffened and shook faintly. It was then Sakura, who'd never really paid attention to the wars waged in and between the surrounding schools, realized how serious they were. The black beauty smiled warmly at Sakura as she passed and the girl's heart skipped a few beats, brought back to earth only by the furious look on Ino's face.

"Come on," the girl snapped, gripping Sakura's wrist tightly and dragging her to their destination. "That stupid bitch!"

Karin was waiting for them in the doorway of a large room, the smug grin slipping off her face as Ino came forward. "What happened?"

"Konan." The blonde replied shortly, shoving Sakura at her. Karin caught the small girl, eyes still on her leader. "I'm tired of this bullshit. I don't care if her boyfriend is apart of _Akatsuki_ she doesn't have any fucking right to keep challenging me like this!"

Karin led Sakura into the room and the pink-haired girl took a moment to study her lavish surroundings. Ino took off her thick fur jacket and flicked back her hair, clapping her hands to gain the attention of all the girl's present. Once again Sakura found herself being shoved forward roughly, this time by Karin, and she stumbled up towards Ino.

"You have gotten my message by now, but we've got a new member - a servant to be exact," Kin snickered loudly, staring at Sakura's bowed head. "Monster girl today is your first day, but be happy, we're going to help you out. Tenten if you would?"

With a clipped nod the brunette stood, bringing a large bulletin board up for Ino to use. "We're going to teach you about everything you need to know to be a proper servant, monster. To start that, we'll be teaching you about all the schools and how to act around them."

A terrible feeling of icy cold raced through Sakura's limbs as she came to the realization that her life, after this day, was never going to be the same. Instead of dwelling on the terrible feeling of supreme loss, she tried to focus on Ino.

"We'll start with us; Konohagakure - headed by me, Karin is my second in command. We rank fourth as far as power goes overall," this fact seemed to displease Ino. "But what can we do? We can't fight with our fists like the boys. Anyway, third in power is Sunagakure - headed by Gaara. His sister Temari goes to this school, but she's too loyal to her brother to be of any use to us.

Gaara's second in command is Uzumaki Naruto. He's an idiot, but he's also resourceful and strong, so he's worth keeping an eye on. Second is Otogakure - headed by Uchiha Sasuke, but you've already met him haven't you?" Ino smirked nastily and Sakura paled at the memory of the boy's attack on her person. "He's got a terrible temper and he's way too jealous." Sakura recalled vaguely that Ino and Sasuke had been dating awhile back, but it hadn't lasted long, like all of Ino's relationships.

"His second in command is Yakushi Kabuto, he's a crazy one. A medical student with a habit of cutting up anyone who gets in his way." Sakura shuddered, it was not the first time she'd heard any of this, but it never failed to send chills down her spine. "Sasuke's third in command, Kimimaru, was the one who killed that teacher last year. He's fairly strong and quick to attack anyone who speaks out against Sasuke.

"And lastly, ranking highest and strongest of all the schools is Akatsuki. Also known as Amegakure. Headed by Uchiha Itachi." A name Sakura knew as well as her own - Itachi was a well known business figure, having rose to a power greater than any before him. He decimated businesses that stood in his way as well as people. It was said he was the one behind the murder of his family, but with money and power, he had easily evaded any sort of suspicion.

"Should we ever meet him," Ino's voice suddenly took a serious note. "Don't look at him, don't talk to him, don't _breathe_ next to him. If you value your life, you'll remember that. His second in command is Pein, Konan's boyfriend and a serious asshole. He's more of a stand in for Uchiha Madara though - he also goes by the name "Tobi" and you're to address him as such should you meet him. Don't even speak to Konan, either. If she comes to you return to my side immediately, do you understand?"

Sakura nodded, closing her eyes to the harsh reality suddenly before her.

"Don't nod - answer; 'yes Ino-sama'."

Lowering her head further in shame Sakura repeated, "y-yes Ino-sama."

"Better," Ino allowed, cracking her neck. "There's much more you'll need to learn in the next few days so start coming sooner, Hinata will be your teacher." Ino paused when she didn't see Hinata, "where is that stupid girl?"

Sasame pulled her orange hair into a bun, keeping it there with an intricate butterfly pin, studded with soft jewels. "Dunno, she mentioned something about a marriage ceremony. You know how it is with her family."

"Marriage meeting again?" Karin whistled, "who's the lucky guy this time?"

Sasame snickered. "Inuzuka Kiba. I hope he doesn't mind her allergies." Sakura recognized the name and found herself able to place the boy as one of Sunagakure's members, number five. "Then again they suit each other."

The bell rung loudly overhead and the girls began to shuffle out of the room, Sakura following behind Ino. When Sakura's seat was suddenly beside Ino's the teacher didn't raise a brow, continuing on with the lesson as if she's never noticed. It was the first time all year that Sakura didn't take notes, instead she sat, head pressed into her palms as she tried to organize the information she'd had crammed into mind that morning.

It was a slower day than normal, the hours crawling by like years, forcing Sakura to suffer through it in silence. Lunch was agonizing, Sakura seemed to be a running joke amongst the girls and she spent the entire hour running errands and fetching lunches for them. The hour was up before she could even buy herself a lunch and Sakura wished she had the courage to speak out against her tormenters.

Surprisingly it was Hinabi, Hinata's younger sister two grades below Sakura who offered her a small apple during the afternoon break. Hinata was well known for being one of the kindest students, often talking to blue students though it was considered shameful. Taking the apple, Sakura flashed the girl a grateful smile, to which Hinabi brushed aside and returned to her desk.

It was sweet and juicy and the only thing that withheld the meltdown Sakura had felt pressing on her all day. After that, her last class went by smoothly and she was finally free. Ino walked her to the gates where they had met that morning, and Sakura was pleased to find the chilled February morning had warmed into sunny afternoon.

"Well monster," Ino began, stopping at the front gates and studying her perfect nails. "You didn't do too bad. Be here an hour before school tomorrow."

"But--"

The blonde's cold eyes flashed and Sakura swallowed thickly. "Are you going against me, Sakura?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Ino snorted, petting the top of Sakura's head. Despite its ugly cut and limpness, the hair was like silk beneath her fingers and Ino rubbed it in contemplation as she realized it was softer than her own. Frowning she dropped her hand, angry at the girl without knowing why. "Get out of here. I'm sick of seeing you - remember, one hour monster."

"Yes, Ino-sama." Ino turned abruptly, withholding on her desire to hit the girl as hard as possible. She didn't know why it was so easy to torment Sakura - or why she felt the insane urge to prove how much prettier she was. That was already obvious. No matter how angry Sasuke was at her for her little prank, in the message Suigetsu's had brought from him, Sasuke had still mentioned the ugly little messenger girl sent to deliver it.

Haruno Sakura was no competition and Ino should have felt relieved by that. But she wasn't. Because something told her that, that small, pathetic little creature was dangerous. A snake waiting patiently to attack.

Sakura waited until the car bearing Ino had driven far from sight before she started home, shoving her hands deeply into the pockets of her skirt. The walk home was a long one, through beautiful neighborhoods full of large houses and fancy cars. Sakura paused as a sleek black car slid smoothly to a stop beside her, her eyes widening fractionally as she took in the sight of a pretty blonde teen leaning lazily out window. He studied her for a moment before turning to someone in the car.

Sakura held her breath, terrified of what was coming, until the backseat window rolled down and Konan's smiling face was peering out at her. "Haruno Sakura, correct?" the girl asked.

Sakura forced her head to nod, the movement awkward and jerky. "Y-Yes."

"Would you like lift? There's plenty of room?" She turned to the blonde, "Deidara, get out and walk."

"What?" the teen whined, rubbing a hand over his face and shooting the girl a piteous look. "Come on, Konan, yeah. That's cold."

Deidara…he was fifth seat in the Akatsuki, good with bombs and such. Sakura studied him keenly, taking in the bandage that wrapped over his left eye stylishly, and then the numerous rings that lined the curve of his ear and stowed them away in her mind. "So?" The girl replied carelessly, "I want to talk to her."

Somehow, Sakura couldn't see Ino liking that. She raised her hands and bowed slightly. "Thank you for the of-offer, but I don't want to take anyone's seat, and I really am close to home."

Konan looked back to Sakura, raising delicate brows in question. "Are you sure?" When the girl nodded frantically Konan smiled, pulling back reluctantly. "Very well. See you around, Sakura-san."

Though she could barely make out the girl's lips, Konan had the distinct feeling the girl had returned her gesture. As Pein pulled away from the curb she settled back into the seat and contemplated the small creature that had managed to catch her attention. Unknowingly, Konan's thoughts seemed to be running along the same lines as Ino's had.

Something about Sakura called to her – and she had a feeling that she wouldn't want to ignore this call. From the corner of her eye she glanced momentarily at the man beside her who had thus far remained silent. "Itachi-san, what do you make of her?"

The pale boy turned to her, his face void of emotion as he considered her question. Deidara answered for him. "She's polite, but seriously, yeah, she looked like a dog with all that hair."

"Similar to you." Konan shot back, sniffing regally at him.

Deidara pulled back, looking insulted. "I do not look like a dog."

Sakura watched the car drive away, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder as she resumed her trek home. Only three more years, she told herself mournfully, just three, long years.

--

OMG! I UPDATED. FOR JOY.

XD

Sorry for the wait. Remember to review and I'll try to start updating more often (scratches head in shame).


	3. Don't Have to Follow

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Three: Don't Have to Follow

--

Sakura stood amongst the falling snow silently, watching as large flakes drifted lazily back to the earth. The thin jacket did little to protect her from the cold and as the snow settled on her shoulders, it melted and it wasn't long before she was quite wet. A brief glance at her watch placed the time as being five thirty - she'd been waiting for Ino for almost forty minutes now, and had no doubts she'd continue to wait until the bell rang at seven am. If she survived that long, of course.

Sakura heaved a sigh, wondering if letting herself have a good cry would be therapeutic or simply make things worse. To her surprise salvation came in the form a familiar black sports car sliding silently to a stop, engine purring, less than two minutes after she had resigned herself to an icy death . Less surprising was the sight of Konan's beautiful head moments later as the girl stepped out from the car, wearing a thick fur jacket to ward off the frigid cold. The coat, Sakura recalled with something akin to horror, was the ten million dollar pride and joy of some famous designer. No matter how blatantly the girls around her seemed to wear their money, it never failed to leave Sakura reeling.

Konan blinked as their eyes met, and Sakura winced as the girl began to hurry over, hoping with all her heart Ino wouldn't choose that moment to drive up. "Sakura-san?" She allowed herself a small nod that signaled, yes; she was indeed Sakura! "What are you doing here so early?"

Considering lying was quickly shot down, because more than likely Konan would be able to see through it; Sakura was a terrible liar. "Ino asked me to be here."

The furious look that passed across Konan's face surprised Sakura, for she'd begun to think that every girl that went to this school was heartless. "How long have you been out here, Sakura?"

Shifting from foot to foot Sakura looked away from Konan's dark eyes. "N-Not long."

"How long, Sakura," Konan repeated firmly, sounding angrier by the second.

Sakura glanced at her watch, wincing inwardly. "Almost an hour." She confessed, letting her gaze fall to her worn black shoes as she wiggled her toes around inside them.

"An hour! For the love of god--," Konan turned on heel and stomped back to the black car which still sat at the curb. "Stay there Sakura-san," the older girl commanded, before sliding back inside the car and shutting the door, leaving Sakura to let her mind wander away once more.

Pein shifted the car into park, leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes as they all waited while Konan struggled to control her breathing. "It's not your place, yeah," Deidara finally said, flicking his finger back and forth across the lowest ring in his ear. "Konohagakure isn't very strong, but they're allies with Otogakure and we can't risk a war, mm."

Looking momentarily stunned by the amount of wisdom in Deidara's words Konan was left unable to reply. At least for awhile. "When did you get a brain?" she murmured, ignoring his outraged look. Hesitating, she peeked at Itachi's smooth face before sighing, "I can't leave her like this; it's absolute torture, and I wont stand for it."

"What is it about this girl that's got you so wound up?" Pein asked, bringing himself gently into the conversation. "It's unlike you to be unsettled by Ino - this isn't the first time she's done this sort of thing. Ino's father will put her family out of business and she'll drop out of school and move. Give it a few months and she'll be free."

The occupants of the car all looked to the small girl who had begun to stare up at the sky, the hair that fell into her face pulling up to reveal the pale skin on her cheeks, flushed a soft red in the cold. Looking back down, Sakura caught a snowflake in her bare hand, closing her fist around it slowly, ignoring the cold air against her once warm hand.

"I don't know," Konan finally answered, still watching Sakura. "Something about her says that wouldn't happen." She spun quickly as Itachi's door opened and the beautiful boy began to exit the vehicle. "I-Itachi?"

The sound of a car door shutting with a gentle snap pulled Sakura from her silent inner musings. Her breath caught tightly in her throat as dark crimson eyes, flecked with black, caught her own and pinned her to the concrete under her feet. Just below the captivating eyes, deep lines cut through the pale flesh of his cheeks and ran down below the sharp bones that accentuated his face perfectly. His thin lips were pressed together tightly, creating for an unforgiving mouth - coupled by the slight down draw of his eyebrows and the dangerous air he gave off, his mere presence was terrifying.

Uchiha Itachi.

His name alone was enough to send waves of terror through a persons being, but having his eyes fixed upon hers - being able to hear the click of his expensive shoes as he slowly made his way to her, it was nothing like the things she'd heard.

Her heart seemed to have lodged it's self deep within her throat, robbing her of air. Ino's words - the only one's she'd actually taken to heart - ran through her head and she realized with a start she was doing the one thing Ino had warned would get her killed. Staring. Sakura ducked her head down as quickly as she could, unable to shake the image of his intense eyes from her mind.

The sound of his shoes tapping steadily towards her sent a silent tremor down her spine. "Itachi-san?" Konan's voice was wary as she exited the car, standing as she too began to rapidly make her way over to Sakura - unable to figure out what the man wanted with the small girl.

The tall teen came to a rest before her and she stared at the cuffs of his tailored pants, admiring the deep black material, she had to admit; he had good taste. "Ah--oh," Sakura was jolted away from the image of his pants by a warm, heavy weight dropping down over her shoulders.

His jacket.

It was far too large for her tiny shoulders and quickly slipped off, Sakura clutching to it for dear life was the only thing preventing it from spilling to the ground. The girl searched his empty face for a moment before letting her gaze drift over to Konan's bewildered expression. "Please," Itachi began, his voice deep and compelling; her eyes were instantly on him once more. "Remember to wear suitable clothing from now on. Konan."

"Yes?" She continued forward until she was standing beside Sakura as well.

"That is an order. You will kindly carry it out to Ino for me."

The smirk of satisfaction that nearly crossed her face was hard to contain and Konan forced her lips into a firm line. "Of course, Itachi-san. Anything else?"

"No. We'll be going now." Without waiting for a reply he turned on heel making his way back to the car, his stride just as measured and calm as before.

"Ah-!," Sakura's voice died in a croak, but he paused nonetheless, casting her a look of confusion?--she couldn't really tell--over his shoulder. The girl remembered herself enough to bow deeply, knowing asking him to take it back would be highly rude, she went for the next best thing. "T-Thank you," raising her head enough to send him a grateful smile.

Itachi blinked and nodded, once again walking back to the car. Inside Deidara openly gaped at him, but said nothing as Pein slid the car into gear. "Well," Konan said cheerfully as the car pulled away from the curb. "I'm glad he likes you!" Sakura gave her a skeptical look, unable to resist at the ridiculousness of that idea. Konan laughed heartily in response. "Oh come on; he just made sure Ino has to let you wear something warm! He never does anything like that, for anyone."

"W-What do you mean?" The pink-haired girl paused as she realized Konan had begun to lead her into the school. "Ino told me to wait--"

"I'm overruling her order. And what I mean is this -- Itachi just gave me an order to pass onto Ino; you are now allowed to wear coats in the morning. Because Itachi's status is higher than Ino's, she'll be unable to do anything about it. Now, come on, we'll get you warmed up."

Somehow, Sakura couldn't see Ino being very happy about all this, but she followed Konan into the school anyway, the desire to be warm again overpowering her fear of the blonde. The girl had a sinking feeling that if Ino couldn't force her to go without a jacket, she'd find something worse for Sakura to do. Sakura pushed her arms through the sleeves of the too-large jacket she'd been loaned and marveled at the silky interior.

They paused for a moment as Konan unlocked the front door to the main entrance of the school and then re-locked them once inside. "Being the head of student council," Konan said cheerily - determined to keep Sakura from hiding within her protective shell. "Has its perks." To show what she meant she jangled the ring of keys she had used to open the main doors. "There's one in here for every room in the school."

Sakura nodded in understand; she'd forgotten that Konan was Student body President - having beaten Ino the previous year during the election. Ino had been furious to be defeated and had rejected the offer for Vice President -- Temari had readily taken the position in her stead. Ino considered it blasphemous; the school she ruled was being controlled in the shadows be her two largest rivals.

"Would you like something to drink?" Konan's voice floated into her mental image of Ino's hissy fit. Sakura blinked, startled to find they had traveled nearly the length of the school and now stood in the extravagant lunch room. Konan, who had been watching the amusing twitches from the girl, now waited patiently for an answer.

"O-Oh," Sakura mumbled, flushing heatedly. "No--no, thank you. I don't have a-any money."

The taller girl waved a slender hand in obvious dismissal. "I'm buying, Sakura-san. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything this morning?" the girl watched with raised eyebrows as the color of the girl's barely-visible nose darkened. "Thought so. Come; I'll get you something to eat." She turned on heel, taking the girl's hand in her own before she could form a protest.

Sakura - used to being yanked around, said nothing. It was strange, she mused, this friendship that had seemed to blossom between them in mere days. If that's even what this was. Though Sakura's intuition told her Konan was safe, her survival instincts left her unable to fully trust the girl. Sakura hesitated over the lunch menu, knowing the students could order food any time of the day, but never having tried it before. She played with her tie, feeling out of place; as she often did when submersed in the fancy privileges of Konohagakure.

"Hot coca," the teen finally murmured, missing Konan's pleased look at finally coaxing an answer from her.

"Do you want me to order something for you?" The black-haired girl asked, not unkindly, smiling fondly down at the shaggy-looking girl. When she received a jerking nod the smile grew, and, unable to resist, Konan gave to down-turned head a pat. "Go find us a table, okay, Sakura-san? I'll be back with the food soon."

"O-Okay," Sakura breathed, hurriedly making her escape. The costly lunchroom was, as expected, empty. And Sakura, given the choice of any table, chose one by the large bay windows overlooking the school's front gate. It would be hard to miss Ino's arrival and, while she wouldn't make it to the front gates in time, it would still be better than being caught chatting with Konan. On that...Sakura swallowed, letting her fingers trail over the smooth leather coat in silent wonder.

Uchiha Itachi was _nothing_ like she'd heard - though she had no doubt he would be terrifying to cross. His eyes...Sakura blushed, unbelieving that she was letting her thoughts dwell on something so far out of her reach. He'd felt pity for the little wet dog. Nothing more. He probably didn't even think of her as a woman.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sakura slumped into a restaurant styled booth, letting her head rest against the cool glass window. "This sucks," she muttered, her words nearly silent. The fragile life she'd been trying to make for herself was suddenly cracking to pieces in front of her and she had no possible way of ever stopping it. After her brother's death and her mother's following suicide she'd seriously believed that was as painful as life could become - and while the torment she was being put through could never weigh up to the agony of her childhood - it was proving that she could suffer through even more. How long until she shattered, however, Sakura couldn't be sure.

Probably a lot longer than most of the girl's Ino picked for targeting. They had all been used to a privileged life style and new to the idea of suffering at the hands of another. To Sakura - it was a learned thing. She would _always_ suffer; she'd known that since the day she'd woken in the hospital, to the knowledge her mother had tried to murder her. She would never escape the nightmares that followed through the shadows of her life.

Placing her hand against the glass, Sakura leaned back, pulling her hair from her face as she stared at her slight reflection. "Hello mother," she whispered, chuckling bitterly as she dragged her nails across the presented face. Noise at the other end of the room caused her to drop her hair, turning back to see Konan carrying two packed trays towards her table.

"Found us a good seat?" the teen joked, setting the trays easily on the table and flashing Sakura a dazzling smile. "I hope you like pancakes," Konan dropped into the open booth across from Sakura and dragged her own tray towards her.

"Thank you," Sakura murmured quietly, letting her previous thoughts disperse. She stared down at the loaded plate before her, hardly knowing where to start.

"Sakura-san, I hope you wont mind me asking...," the girl trailed off, watching Sakura's face carefully as the younger girl looked up in confusion. "Never mind. It was nothing. Ah, try the sausage links; their really good."

Sakura frowned as Konan turned her attention back to the large amounts of food. "K-Konan-senpai?" She ignored the look of surprise on the pretty girl's face at being addressed without prompt. "Why--why are you doing all this?"

Konan straightened, closing her eyes as she thought about how to address the question with an answer. "Intrigue, I suppose. You remind me of someone; it's like...you _call_ to me." Konan flicked dark hair from her eyes, huffing. "It's hard to explain without sounding overly cheesy."

"I-I see." Though she had no clue what the girl had meant, Sakura let the conversation halt at that, content to allow Konan to gently press her into talk about the weather. The peace was short lived. Ino's arrival to the lunch room mere minutes after the girl's had finished their breakfast and were chatting about a TV drama that they both despised, ended everything with a train wreck screech.

Konan stood, pressing a hand against Sakura's shoulder to keep the girl rooted to the bench though she tried to rise. "Stay behind me, Sakura-san, please." The black-haired girl allowed her attention to swerve back to the angry girl before them, studying the hands clenched tightly into fists before taking in the sight of smudged mascara. "Ah, Ino. It's strange to see you here so early," Konan commented, patting Sakura's shoulder lightly as she moved away from the girl. "And so...rumpled. Is something wrong?"

Ino ignored Sakura, leveling Konan with icy blue eyes. "I received shocking news this morning, since you asked. From Hinata - who was worried since she had arrived to find Sakura missing." The timid girl ducked farther behind Ino's fury, sending Sakura an apologetic look; she'd been truly worried and had never intended to stir Ino's wrath. "I, of course, knew that Sakura would never disobey - unless someone persuaded her."

"Ah, ha." Konan lifted a hand to study her perfectly rounded nails, scratching at the dark nail polish that matched her eyes. "So you, _'of course'_," she mocked Ino's previous words, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as she watched Ino's face darken further in rage. "Assumed I had something to do with Sakura-san's disappearance? How intelligent of you, Ino. And here I thought you not only had the disposition of a boar, but the brains of one as well. How inconsiderate of me."

Ino shrieked, lunging at Konan, her hands extended as if the slim fingers sported claws. Her anger was wasted on Konan, who watched Hinata attempt to restrain the girl with poorly concealed contempt. "You are pathetic, Ino. Have I ever mentioned that?"

Ino's face was not pretty when twisted with ugly emotions and it only proved to show Konan's earlier words rang true; Ino was not only a pig in name, but in personality as well. "How _dare _you?!" Ino struggled against Hinata's feeble hold, her hair escaping the intricate diamond pins holding it back. "Sakura is mine! **Mine**!"

"Sakura-san is a human being, Ino. She belongs to no one but herself," Konan corrected, unable to contain a smug note from entering her voice. "Have you forgotten who holds the true power in this school?"

Snarling, Ino ripped free of Hinata's hold, shoving the girl into a table and rushing at Konan, twisting her fist into the girl's jacket. "_I run this school_!" She all but screamed, shaking Konan roughly and ignoring the sound of her jacket tearing. "Don't you dare cross _me_ Konan - I swear I'll make you regret this! Sakura!" She turned, dropping her hand as if Konan had burned the appendage. "Come here, Sakura!"

Sakura made move to stand, her face, what was visible through the thick fringe of her hair, was pale. "Sakura-san," Konan said firmly, her voice carrying over the noise of Ino's harsh panting. "Sit back down, please."

Ino growled when Sakura instantly dropped back into her seat, the flash of her green eyes showing how afraid she was. She _should_ be afraid, Ino thought venomously, because when this was over, she was going to make the stupid girl regret every moment that led up to her wandering across Ino's path. Attempting to gather control of the situation, Ino swept the loose strands of silky blonde hair back, tucking them behind her ear with a deceptively careless motion. "What are you wearing anyway?" She asked, voice snapping over Sakura like the crack of a whip. She brushed past Konan as if the girl had never been there to rile up her anger in the first place. "I thought I told you not to wear a--," she trailed off, her eyes widening as her face paled.

"Oh yes. How could I forget?" Konan touched a hand to her cheek, keeping her voice light and airy, though she was brimming with malicious glee. "Itachi-san wanted me to pass this message onto you, Ino. '_Sakura is to wear clothing suitable to the weather_.' Or something like that. And he, as you've obviously noticed; he let her borrow his coat." Konan smiled sweetly, enjoying the tick growing at the corner of Ino's mouth. "I--"

Konan was interrupted by the bell sounding overhead, startling them all out of the daze -- the audience they'd gained without knowing was whispering, eyes on Ino and Konan, and some even on Sakura, who stood timidly beside the black-haired girl. Ino flushed darkly in humiliation. "This isn't over, Konan. You have _no_ idea what you've just gotten yourself into!"

"Save it Ino." Konan snapped, all false pretense of sweetness lost. "If you truly think Konohagakure is so great, come then. Declare war. I dare you."

Sakura was positive she wasn't the one person in the room to let loose a shudder at the idea of going against Akatsuki's rule. Ino had lost this round, and no matter of pride could deny that. "Hurry up Sakura," she snarled, turning on heel and marching away from Konan, sending the onlookers a look of icy outrage.

This time, when Sakura stood, Konan made no move to stop her, though, as the girl passed, she bent and whispered something into her ear. Sakura's eyes widened and she bit her lip as she hurried to catch up to Ino. Konan watched them leave, heaving a sigh. It appeared she was going to have to fight for Sakura a little more than she'd previously expected.

Sakura followed behind Ino, worrying over what was to come as she studied the stiff line of the Ino's slender shoulders. No matter how she tried to block the idea from her mind, Konan's parting words bounced around her head - filling it with impossible ideas. No. She would never escape from Ino, of that much she was sure...but maybe...

Sakura ran her hand along the smooth painted school walls, staring out the large windows as she came to a stop. Maybe one day...

_"You don't have to follow, Sakura."_

"Sakura!" Ino snapped, and the small girl looked over at her. "Hurry up, you stupid idiot!" Sakura dropped her hand from where it had been resting against the glass pane and began to trail after her "master" like a good little slave, though her mind was elsewhere. Perhaps it wasn't such a far off dream. Smiling slightly at the thought Sakura shrugged Itachi's coat higher onto her shoulders and picked up her pace.

--

I said I'd update fast, and I took forever instead! Gah! Blame youtube and MoonVeil who's gotten me into making her tons of Orochimaru/Sakura videos D:

Ahhhh, I smell Itachi/Sakura!! Who else does? xD


	4. Rival Wind

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Four: Rival Wind

--

Ino rapped her nails against the window frame, anger marring her perfect features as she turned to look at the girl sitting silently at her feet. She studied the shining pink hair with ill-hidden contempt, unable to suppress the waves of absolute hatred that rolled over her as she stared down at Sakura. "I believe," she began, tone deceptively light - concealing the true intention of her words. "That you need to learn something, Sakura. Mm?"

Sakura, who'd been on the receiving end of Ino's frustration and anger all morning, felt a cold chill pass down her spine. Since leaving Konan's presence a few hours earlier, both girls had remained cooped up in Ino's club room, ignoring the bells that proclaimed classes continued to go on without them. Ino slowly sank out of her chair and knelt on the floor beside Sakura, studying the emblem Sakura had missed until it was pointed out to her. A small, black raven was flying before a swirling red cloud, and while Sakura had never seen it before this day, she still knew the meaning of the symbol; Akatsuki's property. And right now, wearing this jacket, Sakura could either be taken as a thief, or, _Akatsuki's property_. Neither was a very attractive choice.

"Do you know, Sakura, why even Konan never wears her **true** school's symbol? Do you?"

She did. Sasuke had made it crystal clear that if he ever saw anyone in his territory wearing this symbol, they'd be dead before they realized what had happed. Paling, Sakura suddenly began to see where Ino was going with this. "I-Ino-sama," she began, her voice shaking.

Ino smiled crookedly. "Yes, monster?"

Sakura bowed her head, understanding that she had resigned herself to this fate when she had accepted Itachi's offer for warmth. She should have just given it back; a beating from Itachi's men wouldn't be nearly as violent as Sasuke's wrath when he saw her wearing his brother's jacket. "Nothing, Ino-sama." She whispered, her eyes burning with the onslaught of tears. This was going to be painful...thoughtlessly; Sakura rubbed her scarred shoulder, her mind connecting pain with the horrible memory.

Ino watched the movement with raised eyebrows, shrugging it off after a moment as she rose from the ground. Retrieving her cell phone from within her purse, Ino skimmed through her contact list, grinning as she found the name she sought. She lifted it to her ear moments later, playing with the small bear keychain that dangled from the antennae as she waited for an answer. "Ah, Kimimaru. It's a pleasure to hear from you, darling. Is Sasuke around?"

Sakura shuddered, trying to resist the temptation to plug her ears tightly, knowing it would annoy Ino - whose intention was for her to hear the entirety of this conversation.

"Sasuke-kun, it's been too long. However -- this isn't a call for pleasantry, you know. I have someone here you might want to meet." Ino blinked, grinning wickedly down at Sakura. "You've met her before...No, not that one. My pet monster."

Shame rose like hot magma in Sakura's throat; how humiliating was it, to be crouched at Ino's feet like some whipped dog while she proclaimed you not only her pet, but a _monster_ as well. The tears spilled down Sakura's cheeks and she made no move to stop them, because Ino was right. She was nothing more than a pathetic loser. She deserved this. She...she had turned her back on mother.

_"You don't have to follow,"_ Konan's voice rang through her head, strong, firm; knowing who she was and where she stood in life.

No, Sakura responded, shaking her head sadly. I _do_ have to follow.

Sakura looked up quickly as Ino snapped her phone shut, having missed a large duration of their conversation. "Well!" Ino clapped, looking happier than she had all day. "He's dying to meet you, so, we shouldn't keep him waiting, no? Come along." Without giving Sakura a chance to rise, Ino grabbed the girl's wrist, yanking up roughly and sending her stumbling forward. Sakura winced, unable to see Ino's look of surprise as she stared at her hand. Sakura was _tiny_. Was it possible to have wrists this small, Ino mused, frowning thoughtfully. Maybe she never ate -- Ino wouldn't mind if the stupid girl dropped dead of starvation. After the humility she'd suffered today because of this, this nothing of a girl that made her feel so self-conscious, so gangly and stupid, Ino was praying Sasuke was in a bad enough mood he'd attack a girl.

Ino didn't waste attention on the teachers that watched them as they left. Sakura dragging behind Ino, felt as though her wrist was slowly being crushed under the pressure of Ino's tight fingers. She was surprised moments later, after exiting the school, when Ino didn't call her chauffer to come drive them to the school nearly a block away. Choosing to walk her frustration out instead; she wasn't through tormenting Sakura, and while she wouldn't have minded Sasuke breaking a few of her bones, she didn't want the girl beyond repair. She still had a few tricks in store for the girl. The thought of those tricks left a chilling smile splayed out on Ino's glossed lips.

Unbeknownst to Ino, Konan had received word of her leaving the school with Sakura - though she had sent Karin texts telling the girl to be on the "clean up squad" and silence anyone who saw them leaving. But, as Konan had told Ino; she wasn't the only one holding power in Konohagakure. Konan was now walking the halls, nearly running as she moved to the entrance, her phone ringing. Praying Deidara would pick up, and vowing to kill him if he didn't, the blue-haired girl rounded a corner, fancy shoes keeping her from sliding across the polished marble.

Finally hearing the tell tale click of the phone being answered, Konan breathed a sigh of relief. "Deidara!"

The boy huffed, a cross sounding noise. "You just got me in trouble with Sasori, yeah. What's so important you called during art class?"

"Who cares about art class?" Konan responded crossly, pausing at the front doors of the school to watch Sakura and Ino disappear around a corner - in the direction she prayed they wouldn't be heading. "Deidara I've got a situation and I'm going to need your help. Now hear me out, I'm being serious - it involves Otogakure."

"Ah shit, mm," Deidara moaned into the phone, scratching a hand along the bandages covering his eye as he waved Sasori over and put the phone onto speaker. "You're on speaker, yeah. What's going on this time?"

"Ino's taking Sakura--"

"That Sakura girl again?" Deidara groused, "can't you just leave well enough alone, yeah? You know what Pein said!"

"Shut _up_ Deidara and _listen_." Konan growled under her breath, turning on heel and stomping back to the school's office. "I need you to have Pein bring the car over and tell Itachi about this."

Deidara squeaked, "Itachi! Are you crazy?"

"No, my mental stability is perfectly well, thank you. Ino's taking Sakura-san to Sasuke because Itachi gave Sakura-san his coat this morning, in case you had forgotten. Sasuke is going to--"

"Tear her apart." Deidara sighed, and Konan knew he had caved. "We'll be there in ten minutes, I'll go find Itachi too."

"Thank you, Deidara."

"Konan," Sasori's voice slid through the phone, slow and careful, as if each word had been methodically planned out before hand. "Wait for us, please. Do not follow."

"I know," she replied, feeling like a small child--as one always did when talking to the teen. Sasori, as Deidara liked to tell him, had been born an old man, and only got older. "I'm going to the office right now, I'll be able to see when you arrive."

"Thank you." Sasori reached out, snapping the phone shut and letting dark eyes drift over to Deidara. "Find Itachi."

"Right." Deidara jumped from his seat, sliding the cell off the table, he pocketed it. Sasori watched the blonde leave, sighing heavily as he made his way - almost painfully slow - towards Pein's current class.

Ino - unaware that she had just gotten herself into an even bigger pickle with Konan, and therefore Akatsuki as well - was currently pulling Sakura into Otogakure, unable to keep a broad grin from her face. "Ino-san," a sinister, soft whispering voice called out to her from the direction of the office, and the girl turned, eyes widening as she took in the sight of Otogakure's head - Orochimaru. The man leaned against the door jam, looking down at the paper work in his hands, but Ino couldn't stifle the feeling he was also leaning behind her, a knife pressed firmly against her throat. Gold eyes slowly drifted up, taking in the sight of Sakura before curving slightly with the smile that now danced across his face.

His smile hid nothing from the two girls; it was as evil as the slur of his words that slid down their spines, sending goose bumps rushing down Sakura's arm. "O-Orochimaru-sensei," Ino managed through her suddenly dry throat. She rubbed a hand across said throat, trying to shake off the feeling of terror that was thick in her veins. "Sasuke-kun invited me here," she said, meaning it to sound like a challenge, but her shaking voice made it seem only like a frail excuse.

"Oh," Orochimaru said carelessly. "I **know**. No need to worry, my dear. I'm not here to scare you." Sakura had serious doubts about that. For once she was glad Ino felt she was below her, and had insisted she stand behind her. "So," his words rolled from his tongue, a purring hiss in the silent halls. "This is the girl I've heard so much about? That even Itachi seems to find," he hesitated, taking the Akatsuki emblem and the shaking girl who wore it, in. "Interesting." He finished at length.

Ino was unable to form an answer, instead she pulled Sakura to her feet and pushed the girl in front of her like a wall. A barrier. Sakura held very still, watching through her long bangs as Orochimaru's brows rose and he took a step forward, setting the folder down on the counter. He continued towards the them, watching studiously as Sakura clenched her hands together in an attempt to keep from trembling.

"Your name?" he asked gently, though nothing that came from his mouth could even truly be called gentle. Knowing she should try and answer the girl opened her mouth, emitting a quiet croak. Fearing she'd angered him, Sakura snapped her mouth shut, coloring darkly. Instead, Orochimaru began to laugh, causing her to stiffen in fear. "Amusing girl. Try again."

This time, Sakura managed to get out her name, though her voice quivered and nearly cracked. "Haruno S-Sakura," she whispered, chest heaving.

"Very good," he praised, patting her head lightly and then leaning down to pick up her hand, setting a small candy wrapped in paper into it, before forcing her fingers closed around it. "Sasuke-kun is in the music hall." Just as swiftly as he'd come, Orochimaru was suddenly at the door, picking the folder back up and entering the office.

Sakura stared at the candy resting in the center of her palm, feeling an unusual tightness in her throat. She wasn't sure if it had been an act of kindness, but somehow, through the icy cold touch of his skin and the hidden malice of his words, she had felt a sort of kindness in him. "Thank you," she murmured, smiling though she know he couldn't see it.

He paused, the door swinging shut as he winked over his shoulder. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan." Orochimaru glanced of at Ino. "Nice seeing you, Ino." Again...Ino swallowed, feeling as though she was drowning, his snaky grin letting her know he enjoyed her fear. As soon as the door shut, blocking them from his view Ino seemed to slump, taking hurried, gasping breaths.

"I hate that man," she muttered, rubbing tears from her eyes. "Come on, freak. I'm not pausing for anything again."

Sakura stood on quaking legs, pinching herself roughly before they caused her to fall. The animosity between Orochimaru and Ino had bewildered her, and she momentarily wondered if he was nice to her to further anger the blonde and decided against it; Ino was still too freaked out to even consider doing anything to Sakura for awhile. Realizing Ino was far ahead, and knowing it'd be bad to get lost with Itachi's coat on, Sakura hastened to catch up to the girl.

The walk to the music room was a silent, a tense one; Ino dwelling on their encounter and Sakura wondering if she'd leave this place alive. The sight of Kimimaru, waiting for them along with Sasuke's top ten underlings broke both girls from their thoughts. "Ino," Kimimaru acknowledged, though his eyes were focused solely on Sakura. "He wants to speak only to the girl."

"What?" Ino didn't look pleased. "She's my--"

"If she's your prey, you should have kept her to yourself _Ino-pig_," Sakon snapped, leaning against his twin and looking up from the game they were playing on the silver gameboy between them. "She's Sasuke-sama's prey now."

Ino snarled, clenching and unclenching her hands. "I haven't given her to Sasuke. She's still mine!"

"You sound infatuated Ino." Kabuto, standing near the entrance to the music room, twitched the glasses on his nose and moved towards them. "You should be careful what you say. Now, go sit somewhere - you'll get her back sooner or later," he told her amicably.

"Probably in pieces," Ukon snickered with his brother, watching the tiny girl Kabuto now stood before.

"Fine." Ino consented, throwing herself into a chair across the hall from the boys with a noise of annoyance. "But I'm only giving him an hour."

Kabuto, reaching out for Sakura, paused, his eyes going flat as he glared across at Ino. "Do not presume to order Sasuke-sama around, Ino. Remember your place." He ignored her bristling and general distaste and turned his attention back to Sakura. Kabuto smiled, placing a hand in the small of her back and urging the girl through the door as the boys in the hall cat called and whistled. Sakura sent him a frantic look, hoping he might have some sort of a soul. "You'll be fine," he told her, though it was an empty statement and shut the door, leaving her the near darkness of the large room.

The only light came from a lone window, shining down on a large piano. With some amount of shock Sakura realized the soft noise she'd heard coming from the room had been from the piano. Sasuke, seated before it, was playing a simple tune, without much skill. "I never learned to play like my mother wanted me to." The boy said, lifting his hands from the keys as he made move to stand.

Sakura staid very still, remembering their last disastrous encounter. Once standing he finally raised his head, pinning her to the spot with furious black eyes, though she could read in them that he was attempting at control.

"Do you play?"

Unsure if he truly wanted an answer Sakura looked to the piano and back again, opting for honesty. "Yes."

Eyes widening in surprise Sasuke stared at the girl; not having been expecting an answer. It was strange - he'd met the girl not even three days earlier and she'd...she was different from then, somehow. Sasuke frowned, halting in his journey towards her. "Do you?" He studied what was visible of her face, trying to scrutinize what the pink hair hid beneath.

Sakura flicked her nails together, trying not to bite them as she had a tendency to do when nervous. "Yes, I have for a long time," she finally responded, studying the play of emotions on his face, trying to discover if she was telling him the things he wanted to hear. Apparently so; he turned back to the piano, tapping it lightly.

"Play for me."

Sakura blinked in shock, unable to move for a moment. Waiting to see if he was serious, Sakura was granted another look of smoldering annoyance that told her, _yes_, he **did** want her to play. Shaking herself from the sudden daze that passed over her, she shrugged off Itachi's jacket carefully, walking to the piano. She folded the expensive coat beside her on the bench and pushed up the wood covering, running her fingers lightly over the keys. "What should I play?" she asked, swallowing nervously as she glanced up at him.

"Anything," the boy responded, uncaring of what she might decide to play, though eyes remained guarded, as though he thought she lied to him about her skill.

Sakura didn't respond, instead her fingers descended over the keys. And she began. Suddenly Sasuke was gone - Ino and the boys waiting outside for her to be carried out on a stretcher vanished. The world narrowed down her hands as they rushed across keys, stringing a haunting, lingering melody. Vocalize, normally a fairly enchanting tune, was suddenly heavy, pressing. Sasuke watched the girl move, finding himself unable to breathe as he was brought into another world, one filled with only Sakura. Her fingers were long and beautiful as they glided, music following in their wake. His eyes roved over her form, seeing this he'd missed previously.

Her hair, that which wasn't hanging over her face, was tied into braids that fell over her shoulders and hung to her waist. It seemed to shine in the limited light, and, as she flicked hair from her eyes he was granted a moment to glimpse what lie beneath. Vivid green eyes framed with naturally long, curling lashes, pale perfect skin and a tiny, delicate nose. Full, pursed lips completed the image; she was so beautiful, sitting there, playing as though no one else existed, that Sasuke staggered away from her. She stopped playing, confused by his action. The music ended; the spell broken. She turned back to him, her face hidden once more.

Sasuke stared at her, taking in the way her hair now looked dull and how lacked the urethral shine when lying flat over her face. His heart rate calmed to a steady beating once more. "Who are you?" he demanded, unable to comprehend what he'd seen; it had to have been a trick of the light. Looking at her now, shrouded in the dark of the room, she was back to being a plain, nothing of a girl.

"Sa-Sakura?" she stammered, not knowing understanding his meaning. His sudden intensity instantly set her soothed nerves alight once more and she shifted in unease.

Sasuke looked away from her, unable to burn away the image of her sitting at the piano from his mind. "Never mind that. Where'd you learn to play like that?"

"My grandmother taught me. She," Sakura, not understanding why, continued to speak, even knowing it was more than he'd asked of her. "Gave me her piano to practice on. I've always loved to play...my mother didn't much like when I played for her, however. So I don't normally play in front of others." Sakura ducked her head. "You didn't like it much either did you?"

"No. I liked it." Sasuke told her, without meaning to - he wanted her to keep talking, though he couldn't explain why. He needed to hear her speak, to know she was human. To know that her whispering voice came not from the angel he'd imagined her to be, but a plain girl Ino was hoping he'd terrorize. "Why didn't your mother want you to play?"

"She thought my music was depressing. She said it was like drowning, like sinking into horrible memories. I...I can't make music sound happy. I've never been able to." Sakura toyed with her bangs as she spoke, telling the boy she considered on the same level of dislike as Ino, things she'd never told anyone before.

Sasuke considered. "It...was sad," he allowed. "But, still, I enjoyed it."

"Thank you." Sakura told him honestly, meaning it. Sasuke, standing very still in front of her, realized in that moment, that he'd sealed his own fate; there was no way he could stay angry at her. Somehow, her presence had completely drained him of the unbridled rage he'd previously been filled with. It didn't even seem to matter anymore than his despised brother had obviously shown an interest in her as well. If anything it only made her more...

Sasuke opened his mouth, but what he was going to say, Sakura wouldn't find out; at that moment the sound of Ino's screech filled the hall, followed by the music room door slamming open. If Kabuto was surprised to see them talking like old friends instead of Sasuke strangling her and Sakura flailing about, he didn't mention it.

"Akatsuki."

Sasuke's eyes tightened and he turned away from Sakura. "Itachi?"

Kabuto shook his head. "No, just Konan and some of the others."

Sasuke watched as Sakura seemed to blossom at the idea of Konan coming to her rescue. "Very well. Deal with them."

Sensing his dismissal, Kabuto closed the door silently, not allowing his thoughts to dwell on the way Sasuke had been studying the girl. "Sakura." Once the girl was looking back at him, Sasuke leaned forward, cupping her cheek in one hand and observing her expression cautiously. "I'll forgive you for wearing _his_ jacket. But, consider this my challenge against him." Before she could let his words tumble around in her mind Sasuke had swooped forward, pressing his lips against hers gently. Almost lovingly.

Sakura froze, brain processing shutting down entirely. She'd just been kissed. He'd kissed her.

Sasuke had kissed her.

The Whys? and What The Hells? followed that understanding, but before she could question him on it, he was leaving through a back entrance, throwing a wink her way from over his shoulder. She stared after him, fingers pressed against her burning lips, her stomach fluttering with butterflies. "Wha-?" she breathed, feeling faint.

It was moments later that Kabuto peeked back into the room, his glasses broken and lying across his face crookedly. "Girl." He called, frowning as she didn't move, still rendered immobile by Sasuke's actions. "Sasuke's left so he's obviously done here. You're free to go if you want."

Over his voice, Ino could be heard yelling insults and trading barbs with Konan, who shot them back readily. "Right." Sakura finally said, rising unsteadily. "Got to go now..."

Raising his eyebrows Kabuto wondered what Sasuke had done to the girl. She wasn't injured. Wasn't crying - only touching her lips and moving as though she were made of goo. Realization struck him suddenly as he finally noticed the flush staining across her cheeks. Sasuke _wouldn't have_. Not to a girl like this...She passed him then, and he strained to see anything in her worth kissing.

"Sakura-san!" Konan cried in relief, shoving Ino into a wall and out of her way. "I was so worried!" She rushed forward, pulling the unprepared girl into a tight embrace, seeming not to notice that around her fists were flying. Deidara breezed past them, grinning manically and closing in on Ukon - who cursed in response, holding a hand to his more-than-a-little broken nose.

"Konan-senpai," Sakura felt tears burning in the corner of her eyes. It had been so, so long since she'd felt this sensation. Of being loved; being safe. She let her arms reach up around the girl, clinging tightly to her. "You came?"

"Of course." Konan replied to the top of the girl's head, pulling away and giving her the once-over. "You look okay, did he hurt you?"

"No. He didn't touch me. I'm fine." From over Konan's shoulder Sakura caught sight of a red-haired boy easily evading attack on both sides, his fist slamming into Suigetsu's stomach -- the movement was so fast she couldn't follow it. Her attention was brought away from Suigetsu's gasping retch as he fell to the ground, by Konan's bewildered voice.

Konan frowned. "Strange. But, I suppose stranger things have happened." She took Itachi's coat from off Sakura's arm, and threw it over her shoulders, making sure to do up the buttons so it wouldn't slide off as Sakura walked. "Come on. Lets get the heck out of here."

Ino, reeling after hitting her head against the wall didn't even try to stop them from leaving, too angry at loosing to Konan twice in one day. Konan paused for a moment, sighing as she took in the sight of Deidara kicking Sakon mercilessly into the ground, his hair falling into his face, and hiding his excited expression from everyone but Sakon - who looked back up with a sneer, trying not to wince in pain. Raising her fingers to her lips Konan whistled two short blasts, looking pleased when Deidara's foot halted, forcing Sakon into the floor.

Sasori released Suigetsu from the choke hold he'd had him in, making his way back to Konan. Deidara followed suit, looking displeased with having been interrupted. He was far more vocal about it than Sasori. "Aww, Konan - you're such a bitch, yeah. First fun we've had in months and you _ruined_ it!"

"Shut up, idiot," the girl snapped back, hitting him hard on the head. "Any more and he'd have started puking blood. I don't feel like paying to hush it up for you, either."

Deidara snorted. "I have plenty of money myself, yeah. I'll cover my own ass, thanks anyway."

"Cover your own ass, huh? Well then - the next time that ass of yours gets arrested for trying to kill some guy up because he was drunk and tried to hit on you--"

"Shoved his hands down my pants you mean." The blonde hissed in return. "Bastard tried to molest me in the middle of a bar. He got what was coming to him."

Konan rolled her eyes and let the subject drop, ignoring Deidara as he started whining again. Sakura, tucked safely in the crook of Konan's arm, was content to let her mind wander as they walked around to where Pein had parked the car. Sasuke had been messing with her, she finally decided, unable to think of any other reasons for his previous actions. After all - he went through girls like tissues - and if her memory served correct, he wasn't dating anyone at the moment. So...she'd been a convenient outlet for his hormones. This answer satisfied her, and Sakura was content to shove the memory into the farthest corners of her mind.

Pein started the car as soon as he saw them rounding the corner, pulling back and stopping in front of them. Konan released Sakura and urged her into the backseat, smiling encouragingly when Sakura hesitated. Sakura sighed and ducked into the car, trying to ignore that she was now boxed between two foreign boys - Deidara who she only knew through Konan's stories as being wild and totally unserious. And Sasori -- who she knew about through rumors, most of which were probably untrue. She stared forward nervously ahead, trying to concentrate on where they were going. Surprisingly, it seemed as though...Pein was taking her home...

Konan smiled, and, as if reading her mind said: "I got your address from the school. If you want, I can bring your bags by later since I'm going to head back to school." She noted Sakura's expression. "I had a feeling you wouldn't want to be around to witness Ino's wrath for the afternoon."

"Thank you," Sakura managed, surprised Konan could see through her so well. "If - if it really wont be any trouble, I would like to have my things so I can review what I missed." Sakura inhaled sharply when Pein rounded a sharp turn that caused Deidara to end up pressed firmly against her side. Blushing at her immediate reaction, Sakura ducked her head to ignore his look of surprise. He straightened off of her, frowning.

"Sorry." He muttered, maneuvering himself away from her and against the window.

Feeling embarrassed about her poor reaction, Sakura tried to refrain from speaking and moving for the duration of the car ride, feeling sick with thanks as the car drew to a halt before her house. "Right one?" Pein asked her softly, meeting her eyes in the review mirror.

"Yes," she told him, bowing from the waist. "Thank you for driving me home."

He smiled warmly back at her, opting to say nothing in return - his smile was enough for the girl, though. It was open and true. True smiles were something lacking in her life as of late. Deidara kicked open his door, pulling himself from the car and waiting for her to exit. Sakura scrambled out, unable to meet his gaze as she bowed her head jerkily and mumbled an apology for her earlier actions. Deidara's good eye stared down at her, as if trying to scout out dishonesty. "It's fine." He said, voice gruff.

Smiling wearily, Sakura hurried away, taking the steps up to her house two at a time, pausing as she pushed open the front door. She turned to wave to Konan, her smile less forced now the the prospect of being safe in her home again was about to be realized. The girl had the window rolled down despite the cold weather and was returning the gesture, looking pleased. "Bye Sakura-san!" she called as Pein pulled away from the curb.

Sakura watched them go before letting herself into the house, standing with her back against the door. She knew the feeling of warm relief wouldn't last -- but all the same, it was nice to know it was finally the weekend, and that she could be away from Ino for at least two days. Her mother was coming around the corner from the kitchen, staring at her in surprise. "I didn't feel well," Sakura lied, slipping out of her shoes. She stepped up onto the soft carpet and tried to ignore the guilt when the woman's face tightened in worry. She stroked the coat still around her shoulders, as if trying to draw comfort from it.

"Come into the kitchen, Sakura. I'll make you some tea." Her mother turned back, fussing over her in her gentle, pressing way. Sakura let herself be led away from the door, allowing her thoughts to drift away from the problems of her life as she inhaled the sweet aroma of green tea.

--

Geez. The chapters for this just seem to get longer and longer. And yes, I know Konan has blue hair. I'm just a moron. I'll go back and fix all the "black" hair some day...when I have the motivation. AHH! WHAT IS THIS? SASUKE/SAKURA ACTION? (shocked expression) Well, it appears Itachi's got company.

How was that for a fast update, ne? (ego swells)

Also - the music Sakura is playing in this chapter, is _Rachmaninov_'s "Vocalize" and if you're interested in hearing it, I'll place a link below - or, if it's easier, you can find it in my profile as well.

http / www . you tube . com / watch? vek-Gw yUOmUs&featurerelated

(remove spaces)


	5. Mirror Image

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Five: Mirror Image

* * *

Sakura sat in the well-sized study room - her father's work room, and the room he escaped into each night. He sat in front of her, looking tense and ill at ease. "Sakura," he said slowly, watching to gauge her reaction. "I received a call from Ino Yamanaka today."

Sakura tried to refrain from sighing loudly. So that was why he'd come home in such a tearing hurry and dragged her into his office. She could only imagine the lies Ino had told the man to get him home that fast. She waited for them, knowing that her weekend of peace was suddenly about to come crashing down around her.

Her father smiled a moment, throwing the girl off. "I must say, I'm glad to hear you've made such a good friend, Sakura." The smile slowly slid from his face, "but Ino also expressed her worry over you. She, nor I," he hastened to add, "think you should be around that, er - bunch from Akatsuki."

Sakura blinked rapidly, suddenly seeing where all of this was going. "But, dad you don't understand--"

"Hush, Sakura. Please." He swallowed, "Ino has explained to me that this Konan girl has made you indebted to her and that you feel you must put up with their tormenting. But you don't know anything about them Sakura; the children from that school--their dangerous. That Uchiha boy broke away from his family, do you know why? Most people just say "because he was thought to be involved in the murder of members of his family". He wasn't involved, Sakura, honey. He was the one who killed them. He and his uncle were the ones behind a mass slaughter. Almost fifteen people were killed. His parents sent him away and hushed it up to keep the Uchiha family's name clean."

Her father rubbed a hand across his face, looking more tired than he had in months. "Sakura," he said wearily, staring at her sadly. "Just be careful, okay? I...know you can take care of yourself, but these people are ruthless. Spoiled brats who've lived with too much money their whole lives and now are taking it out on society. To them you're just another girl whose death would take a little chump change to cover up. Now promise me, Sakura, that you will be careful. Promise me."

Sakura hesitated, following the deep lines around his eyes and mouth and finally bowing her head. "I promise, dad," under the table her fingers had crossed themselves and she heaved a quivering sigh. She'd never outright lied to her father--and this didn't count as one either. She'd be careful; careful of the people she really needed to watch out for. Her father saw Ino only as the girl she presented herself to be, funny, intelligent and sophisticated. What lie beneath, hidden from the rest of the world, was a black, horrible soul. She was far more dangerous to Sakura, than Sakura felt Itachi was. And maybe she was crazy, but Konan had become one of her first real friends since her brother had died and she'd been taken out of the small tight-knit school she'd gone to since kindergarten and thrown head-first into the snobby upper class schools.

"Thank you Sakura. That's all I wanted to talk about."

Dismissal. Sakura rose from her chair, bowing respectfully to him as she left his office, breathing deeply once she'd passed through the stretch hold to freedom. Her mother was waiting anxiously by the door for her, hovering over the scarf she was nearly finished with. "Sakura!" she cried softly, rushing over when the thick wood doors had slid shut and broke her from her knitting. "What happened, dear?"

"Nothing mother," she said, attempting to smile. The way Ino had treated her the past week, and understanding the feeling of being brushed aside and spoken to in a degrading manner, had chilled something inside Sakura. It was fairly similar to the way she had spoken to this woman. Cold. Detached. Uncaring. It was time Sakura tried to understand her feelings, the feelings of a woman coming into a household she'd helped to break and trying to reach out to a child she wanted to let know she would love--taking the place of the woman who'd been there before. And maybe she'd never really be Sakura's mother, but she was there, and the offer of love had never backed down.

"Are you sure, honey?" her mother reached up to tuck Sakura's hair behind her ear, pausing mid way as she remembered the last time Sakura had flinched away from her touch. She lowered her hand.

"It's...," Sakura closed her eyes; trying to ignore both the face she knew didn't belong to her mother, and the face in her memories, who glared back at her - expression torn in betrayal. "Okay. I don't mind."

The woman blinked in shock, staring at her with wide eyes. Finally, after a tense minute of waiting, a smile drew up her lips. It was a pretty smile, full of warmth. Gently, taking her time as if Sakura was an animal who'd run if she moved too fast, the woman tucked Sakura's smooth hair behind one ear, patting her cheek lightly.

Sakura inhaled deeply and realized just how much she'd missed the touch of a mother - the touch of someone who'd love you no matter what stupid things you did. She bit her lip, unable to keep in the tears that dripped down her cheeks and onto the woman's palm. Sakura leaned forward, dropping her head onto her mother's shoulder and crying into the soft material of her shirt.

"Sakura? What's wrong, Sakura?" Her mother placed a hand lightly on the back of her head, pulling the slim girl into her arms and rocking her from side to side soothingly. "Shh," she murmured, petting the girl's hair. "Everything's okay, it's okay."

Sakura didn't know how long she stood there, feeling as though she'd been welcomed into something she'd forgotten existed. She didn't know when her own arms had wrapped tightly around her mother, or at what point her father had come out to watch silently, relief blossoming across his face, making him look his true age. She couldn't even remember when she'd sagged in exhaustion, a week of little sleep and torture finally mingling in with the affects of a hard cry. She could only vaguely recall her dad struggling to carry her up the large staircase, her mother behind him remarking on how unfit he was now a days. His reply was lost to her as she passed over into sleep.

And when she sat up the next morning, staring blankly into the sun streaming through her windows, she was filled with the warmth of knowing that, downstairs, someone who loved her was waiting for her. And would always be waiting. Sakura threw off the covers, ignoring her appearance in the mirror as she turned on the shower and ducked back into her room for a change of clothes. The water in the shower was nearly scalding and Sakura rubbed shampoo into her head fiercely, wanting to be clean of herself. After rinsing the suds from her hair Sakura gathered it into her hands and squished the remaining water from it, reaching for a towel along the wall.

She dried off quickly, pausing for a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair had gotten a lot longer, nearly touching her belly button. Her bangs had been swept away from her face and she stared at that face, fighting the sickening roll of her stomach. _Mother_. Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth, quickly looking away from the mirror, stumbling to the toilet as she dry heaved.

Words bounced around in her head, empty memories, the faces and places lost to her. _"Your daughter is suffering from Eisoptrophobia, Haruno-san. It's a fairly normal phobia, though not one seen often. It is, to simply put it; a fear of mirrors. Sakura-san is unable to see herself in a mirror without seeing the resemblance to her mother -- it is this resemblance that triggers the reaction and makes her think she is seeing her mother. At this point her body simply shuts down, and she goes into a coma-like state at worst, and, as you've seen, gets sick at best. I'm going to prescribe some medicine. I'd also like Sakura-san to come see me twice a week..."_

Sakura panted, leaning heavily against the toilet bowl, trying to drown out the voices in her mind. "Shut up," she whispered, clenching her eyes shut tightly. She didn't _need_ medicine. She just needed relief. Brushing her bangs weakly into her face, Sakura reminded herself not to look into the mirror this time. She stood on quivering legs, closing her eyes as she tried to take hold of the situation and her body's reaction to the memory of the person who face was mirrored by her own.

Doctors had been trying to cure her of this _disease_ for years--none having succeeded in the slightest. No matter how she tried to suppress the images that came at the sight of her face, her mother's face, it never worked. She was constantly drowning in the memories of a childhood that had destroyed the person she'd been. She couldn't even remember what it was like to tie her hair back in a pony tail, or what it felt like to have friends and be completely and overwhelmingly happy. The feelings were long lost to her; always replaced by nauseating pain and the sensation of blood dripping down her face...blood that wasn't her own. Continuously, it was followed by terror and horrible screams - they might have been hers. She couldn't remember.

"Sakura? Honey?" Her mother's voice filtered in through the door, sounding worried. "I heard a loud noise, did you fall?"

Breathing deeply through her nose, Sakura used the technique she'd been taught to calm herself down in a hurry. The need to break her mirror--as she done countless times in the past--was slower to dissipate. "I'm...fine, mother." She murmured, feeling somewhat normal again.

"If you're sure dear," the woman responded, not sounding convinced, or any less worried. "Your father left for work already...if you'd like we can make some jam today to take over to Mogami-san." There was a hopeful note in the woman's voice that tugged at Sakura's gut until she knew she couldn't possibly go without spending the day with this woman.

"Okay," she replied, reaching for the clothes she'd placed on the sink. To her astonishment her lips curled into a smile almost automatically, she pressed down on her cheeks, wondering as to why it felt so natural to smile. "Okay, mom."

--

Monday morning came far too soon. The weekends had never passed quite so fast, normally dragging on painfully as Sakura tried to make herself invisible in her room. But her mother had seemed determined to keep Sakura from withdrawing back into her shell; the woman had taken Sakura through the lengthy process of creating jam and then coaxing the girl into delivering them around the neighborhood moments later. It was ridiculously easy; Sakura's body seemed hell bent of catching up on lost time and she relented to the woman without complaint.

The weird, gooey feeling that had seemed to posses her during that time had died within her when she awoke to her alarm buzzing in her ear. School. She knew that no one liked going to school, but she wasn't sure that you were supposed to feel as though you were facing the firing squad whenever you caught sight of your school uniform. She shrugged the material on, trying to ignore the color and feel of the clothes; for each of these reminded her of Ino's form leaning over her threateningly.

"S-Sakura, darling," her mother called up the stairs. Sakura froze; the woman's voice was shaking and strained to the point of cracking. The girl rushed to roll her socks up her ankles and grabbed her back pack, glad she'd brushed her hair over her face already. Sakura stumbled down the slippery stairs to join her mother and see what she was looking out the window at. Stumbling to a stop, Sakura nearly swallowed her tongue in shock. Sasuke, standing before a sleek black car, was staring impatiently up at her house.

He couldn't be here to give her a ride to school. There was some catch waiting to come at bite her in the ass (besides Ino's rage if she saw this, of course). He could try to force himself on her...Sakura shook her head roughly, refusing to even dwell on what had passed between them the previous week. She sat on the ledge to put on her shoes and prepared herself for a run - she didn't have too many of her books since Konan hadn't collected them from her locker, so it wouldn't be too hard to run without bruising her back. Hesitating a moment, Sakura reached for the jacket Itachi had lent her, sitting dry cleaned and ironed in the closet. She slid the heavy material over her shoulders, hiding the Akatsuki mark beneath the strap of her bag.

A silk handkerchief wrapped around her lunch box was presented to her and Sakura tucked that into her bag too, praying her mother had packed the food tightly. "Mom," she said, standing to see how the weight of her bag felt on her shoulders. "Let's not tell dad Uchiha Sasuke was here. Okay?"

Sensing a mystery, her mother eyed her for a moment before smiling. "Very well. My lips are sealed. Have a good day, honey."

"You too mom." Sakura bowed respectfully and grabbed her key of the mantle, shoving it into her pocket as she threw open her front door. Sasuke looked up as Sakura leapt over the last three steps and down on the side walk - she hit the pavement running. If the boy was surprised that she tried to run, he didn't show it. He merely shook his head and snapped his fingers--speaking to the large, intimidating men beside him in a language foreign to Sakura's ears.

Moments later, being carried as though she was a small child, Sakura got to see just what expression was on his face. Smug, mostly. But amusement was shining in his eyes as well. "Hello, Sakura," the boy said, keeping his tone light and pleasant. "So glad you could join me." He extended his arms out--the pose reminded her of a parent reaching back for their small child--and, when she was handed down to him, she realized just why he was standing like that. Before she could protest, Sasuke tossed her lightly into the back seat of the car and followed her in, shutting the door with a snap and calling out more commands.

Keeping very still, Sakura allowed her mind to wander on the ways of the privileged. None of them seemed to mind tugging her around like a rag doll without her permission. Maybe it was just a rich person thing. Then again--despite the cold weather and the expensive design, Itachi hadn't seemed to mind giving her his coat. Reminded, Sakura brushed a hand over the material, making a mental note to stop by the office when she got to school and ask for some plastic bags; she'd need to keep it clean in her locker. She'd also need to ask Konan to return it to him.

It didn't seem Sasuke had any ill intentions; besides kidnapping her. The car was heading to her school and she was going to be quite early. "So. Sakura." She blinked, stubbornly not turning to face the boy. "Since it appears you don't feeling like talking to me, I won't tell you why I picked you up this morning. But I will tell you this." His dark eyes slid to the side and she knew, though he was facing forward, he was still watching her carefully. "You've caught my interest. And nothing ever escapes me once I'm interested." He smirked, turning to face her fully, "I intend to take you from my brother, Sakura. So you'd best just get used to my being around."

It was a bold statement--but she expected nothing less of the boy. He was infamous for destroying those who stood in the way of what he wanted. It was a little strange that he wanted _her_, if it was even her he wanted - it was plausible that he was merely interested in assisting Ino in getting rid of her. As of late, Sakura had resigned herself to a lot of strange things, and being chased around by Sasuke wasn't even the worst of them. He'd get bored eventually. He always did.

Sakura was started from her silence as the boy's arm dropped heavily around her shoulders and tugged her gently against his side. She stilled, unbelieving of what was happening. Sasuke smirked, playing with one of her long braids as he stared ahead at the passing houses. "Why so tense? Relax - I'm not going to eat you."

Somehow, Sakura had serious doubts about that. But she tried to relax anyway; it would do her no good to make him angry. "You have soft hair," he murmured, rubbing it between his slim fingers in contemplation. His arm tightened briefly around her, she flushed in response, unused to attention from the male sex. Not that she was interested in him, in any way shape or form, it was just _really_ embarrassing.

"S-Sasuke-san," she squirmed in his grasp, more grateful than ever to see the towering beauty of her school. "Can y-you please r-release me?" Her stutter, which had seemingly vanished in the previous days, was back with a vengeance. To stammer before Ino would mean punishment, and so she kept her mouth shut, her words slow and precise. Konan, however, was a different story. Around Konan Sakura felt like another person entirely, a person not afraid to smile and express how she felt.

Sasuke's lips turned up devilishly. "I will. On one condition."

"Condition?" she repeated hesitantly, her stomach dropping.

"Just one," he read her face, his smile growing. "A kiss, if you don't mind, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's jaw dropped. He _was_ going to force himself on her! "I-I w-won't," she told him firmly, momentary rage over-powering her fear of him.

"Very well. I'll take one then." She raised her hands to fend the idiot off, but found herself crushed against his chest moments later with, warm, soft lips covering her own. Blood rushed into her face, throwing her thoughts into a dizzying whirlwind as she loosened her hold on his coat, feeling his fingers thread gently into her hair. When he pulled away, the smug air was gone, his eyes as distant and unfocused as her own. "See?" he croaked, unable to believe he'd been so taken over by a kiss. "That wasn't so bad."

Before she could form a response he was kissing her again fiercely. Sakura squeaked in shock as his tongue pressed lightly against her bottom lip, sending sparks shooting behind her eyes. She had to draw the line somewhere, no matter how her traitorous body seemed to be enjoying his warmth. Wrenching herself away, the girl scooted to the other side of the back seat, keeping a hand over her mouth as she watched him - the prey careful in the presence of the predator.

Sasuke breathed deeply through his nose, attempting to regain control. He'd kissed countless girls in the past, all beautiful and alluring. But none - none had felt like this. Without saying a word he opened the car door, focusing on the trees behind her as Sakura scrambled out of the car. Hand still over her mouth, Sakura didn't realize her hand was pushing her bangs from her face - giving Sasuke a look at the slim, even brows settled elegantly over her eyes and the pale, clear skin of her face. Her eyes, framed by thick, curling lashes, were the most beautiful shade of green he'd ever seen in his life. A slight dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose off set how pale she really was.

Sasuke remained frozen in place, knowing that if he could see her thin, well-shaped lips, he'd be once again mesmerized by the girl's beauty. He couldn't even remember why he'd first though she was boring to look at. Sakura was anything but plain. Which once again roused his curiosity; why, with such a face, would she try to hide it? Realizing he'd spent nearly a full minute frowning at her in contemplation, Sasuke straightened, forcing his frozen face to smile.

"You're blushing, Sakura-chan." She twitched, and her cheeks darkened further, her eyes diverting away from him. Sasuke had to get away from her before he did something he would regret later on; she was far too cute. Ignoring the overwhelming need to pounce on her small form and kiss her senseless, Sasuke patted the top of her head in a friendly fashion. "I'll see you later, ne?"

Sakura finally dropped her hand away from her mouth, allowing her bangs to fall back over her face once more. "I'll r-run," she warned him.

"I'll chase." He responded seriously. "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, my dear." Sasuke was glad she'd finally found her tongue around him; it'd be dull if she was always too afraid to say anything.

Sakura didn't know how to respond to his last statement and chose to remain silent over retorting. He didn't seem angry, or irritated she was fighting back against him and she took it as another sign he found her amusing. It was discontenting that he always left her thoughts in a dizzying whirlwind; one second he was acting the part of the aloof, cold prince and the next she was in his arms being kissed with a warmth she hadn't known him to possess. A sigh slipped past her lips, and the weary noise made Sasuke frown. He smoothed a hand across her cheek, ignoring how she stiffened under him.

"I need to speak to Ino about the way she treats you."

Sakura's response was almost violent. She shook her head so hard his hand was knocked loose and her bag slipped off her shoulder. "No! You can't; she'll kill me!"

Sasuke didn't reply, only watched her with contemplating eyes. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll be here ten minutes after school is out to pick you up. Don't be late."

Sakura pressed her lips together tightly, watching him reenter the car and drive away, feeling as though another noose had been tightened around her strained throat. It was terrible of him to do this to her. He was no better than Ino.

The girl hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and turned towards the high brass gates, her palms sweating as she was faced with the knowledge that she had a whole, agonizing long week ahead. She let her fingers find the familiar Akatsuki cloud on her borrowed jacket, rubbing it with her fingers. At the very least she could find solace in the friendship Konan offered her - however strange and wild it was. No matter what her father and the other adults thought about the girl and her companions, Sakura didn't care. Konan had become the strong plank under her feet, keeping her from slipping and falling against the ropes binding her life. And the older girl might have seedy motives and hidden intentions, but for now, Sakura was content with where she stood.

Drawing in a timid breath, Sakura took the step forward, into the gates of her prison.

--

Konan walked through the silent, impressive halls of the Uchiha manor, quickening her step to keep up with Itachi. It was not every day that they visited the main house and she dreaded each trip. As always, the oppressing silence of the surrounding walls made her stomach roll. She didn't blame Itachi for running as fast and far as he could when offered the chance. She paused when the boy came to a sudden halt, checking his watch for the time. "Konan," she looked up when addressed. "Go have Pein bring the car around. I will meet you there."

"Okay." She bowed respectfully, not moving as she watched him fade down the long hall. When he finally entered the meeting room, the doors falling shut behind him and shattering the silence did she finally move towards the front entrance where Pein and Deidara were waiting for their return. She hastened her step to a near run, ready to be out of the manor house and into the cold morning. She didn't wait for the butler to open the heavy front doors for her; instead she wrenched them open and stalked out, not looking back as she rushed down the steps and onto the gravel drive.

"Konan," Pein said once she'd come around the tall line of well groomed foliage. "Where is Itachi-sama?"

"He had one last thing to do," the girl replied, rolling her shoulders as she came to a stop in front of the boys; they cracked loudly in response. "We're going to be late for school."

"Worried?" Deidara asked, tilting his head and sending blonde hair spilling across his face. "The poor little lamb has been left alone in a den of wolves?"

Konan bristled, instantly irritated by the mocking note in his voice. "What have you got against, Sakura-san? What has she done that's so horrible to you Deidara?"

The boy scowled, making a small noise of anger. "I just don't like her, okay?"

"You just don't like her." Konan repeated, snorting. "What are you--four?"

"Enough." Pein intercepted before the conversation took a turn for the ugly. The way he frowned down at them, made both feel as though they were small children, being reprimanded by a parent. "Just get in the car, both of you." He shook his head, moving to enter the vehicle himself. Konan's lip curled as Deidara sent her a not so subtle dirty look--he was rewarded with a swift kick to the ass when Pein wasn't looking moments later. Sporting a superior smirk, Konan slid into the front seat, letting her mind dwell on Sakura and how the girl must be faring at that moment.

* * *

I'm exhausted. School is a complete pain in the ass - and it's literally sapping all available time for writing. I apologize for how long this chapter took to get out. It's pretty rough around the edges; I wrote it fairly fast and only checked over it once. I feel so bad for my poor beta. MoonVeil you suffer so much from the crappy things I send you. Dx

Anyway, please remember to review. I love you little weirdoes.

Also, I really need to do a shout out for AGENT KUMA-CHAN, because your reviews are freaking hysterical. lol.


	6. Friend of a Friend

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix? Chaos.

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Six: Friend of a Friend

* * *

Sakura stepped into her classroom, frowning at the snickers of the girls who stepped aside to grant her entrance to the room. Her stomach dropped as the sight of Karin and Tenten reached her eyes, both girls sat on the teacher's desk, a large bucket filled to the brim with water sitting between them. "Sakura," Ino's voice came from her left, and she turned to find the girl sitting at Sakura's desk, carving something into the wood. "You're late, monster. And here I thought Sasuke-kun's car was faster than that."

Sakura felt a chill pass down her spine, nearly shaking in fear as Ino finally looked up -- the rage in her eyes beyond anything Sakura had seen yet. Karin slid from the desk when Ino waved a painted hand, grabbing the bucket along the way. The pink-haired girl held very still, watching Karin approach with the undoubtedly cold water, already knowing what was about to come. She bit her lip as the water was poured over her head, shuddering as small ice cubs slipped down the back of her uniform. It was much colder than anticipated.

"Well, that ought to cool your head, one can only hope." Ino murmured, rising with a large pair of scissors. Sakura paled and took a step back, only to have Karin grip onto the front of her uniform and shove her further into the room. Sakura hit the teachers desk hard, wincing as her rips creaked under the pressure. Ino was quick to follow, curling her fingers into the silky pink hair and wrenching the girl back harshly. "I've been playing soft-ball with you, monster. Only to come to find you taking advantage of my kindness. How cruel of you."

"Ino-sama," Tenten said softly, passing something over to the girl. "It's Tayuya; Konan's car just pulled up."

Ino ignored the phone being held out to her. "This will only take a moment. Tell Tayuya to distract her. I don't want anything getting past the entrance." She turned her attention back to the girl under her, who had begun to tremble violently. She opened and closed the scissors, letting the haunting snap alert the girl to what was about to happen. "Remember this monster. Cross me again and you'll end up with much worse than short hair."

Sakura gasped, her mind swimming as she tried to imagine the consequences of what was about to happen. Without her hair she would be able to see _her._ Without her hair she wasn't safe...

Sakura blinked as her vision was suddenly tinted black, ears roaring as she swayed. "Hold still," Ino said with false sweetness. "Don't want me to cut your ear off, do you?" She froze when Sakura suddenly ripped free of her hold, stumbling backwards in her haste. "What do you think you're doing?" the blonde snapping, rising off the desk as she held the scissors like a weapon.

"Mother," the smaller girl muttered, her hands lifting up to drag more hair into her face. Her voice was bitter, and directed at Ino: "I won't free her."

Ino paused, eyeing Sakura warily. She remembered her private investigator mentioning something about Sakura having been treated in a mental facility after her mother had left her family, though she knew little about the details of the incident. The girl's father had remarried a mere month later and her real mother hadn't been seen or heard from since. Ino was slow to smile, making a note to give her private investigator a call once she had a free moment. It seemed she had discovered a crippling chink in Sakura's armor.

Sakura stopped dragging her hair forward as Ino sank to the floor in front of her, reaching out to cup her cheek. "Sorry, my dear monster," the girl murmured, tucking some of the long hair behind one of the girl's ears and lifting the scissors. "But I really don't care about your mother."

Green eyes followed the scissors approach, clenching shut as they closed in on the first locks of pink hair. Every nightmare she'd been haunted with in the past seven years was suddenly very real. Panic raced through Sakura's veins and she was lashing out before she knew what was happening. Ino fell back with a stunned expression, her cheek burning where she'd been slapped. Sakura was running before the girl had a chance to retaliate, shoving her way through the throngs of girls frozen in disbelief.

She took random turns through the halls, waiting for the screaming of someone chasing her, not understanding what was happening when they never came. Coming to a stop, almost five minutes into running, Sakura reached up for her tie, loosening it so she could breathe better. The blue material was dark against her skin and she glared down at it, scrubbing bitter tears from her eyes when they dripped down. It was because of this tie. This _label_ that she was tormented. Because her father didn't own a large corporation. Because they sometimes struggled with the bills.

Because she was _poor_.

How horrible a world, that those with less to live on were treated like dirt. Sakura tucked her tie back under her school's uniform jacket, pushing off the lockers she'd been using as a crutch while she caught her breath. If only Konan were here, Sakura thought wistfully, creeping along the stairway. Then again, if she was always leaning on Konan she'd become a nuisance and even as kind as she was, Konan would grow tired of her.

"Found you," a voice said behind her, and Sakura spun to find Deidara frowning at her wearily. "I'm late for school so hurry up, yeah."

Sakura gaped at his back, words not coming past the first shocked squeak. "B-But--"

He glanced back, scowling. "Don't you understand English? I said come on."

"Right. I'm s-sorry." She moved quickly to catch up with him, falling into step beside him a moment later. He remained silent as they walked back towards the front of the school, the place Sakura had been running from for some time. She glance up at his face and then back down hurriedly as he too looked over at her. "T-Thank you, f-for coming," she murmured softly, licking her lips, a nervous habit.

"Don't mention it. Konan sent me."

The girl smiled. It figured though she hadn't wanted to be in her way, she'd still caused Konan trouble. Brilliant. "O-Oh," Sakura finally mumbled in reply, studying her brown shoes as they walked. The large entrance of the school was soon visible and Sakura began to smile with real warmth as she caught sight of Konan's bright hair. She stopped walking, however, at the sight of one Uchiha Itachi, standing beside her, his face blank.

"What's wrong?" Deidara looked back at her, blinking at the expression on her face.

Sakura fought the blush that was traveling down her neck in a hurry, biting her lip. She really should return the coat now - it was probably the only chance she'd get in a long while. But, at the sight of him, she'd decided she didn't _want_ to give it back. "D-Deidara-san?" she turned to him, silently willing him to just go along with her. "I n-need to get something from me l-locker. W-Will you come with me?" She didn't add the, _before they see us, please_, though she wanted to.

Deidara studied her curiously, before shrugging, not feeling up to questioning her about it. "Sure. Why not, yeah?" When he would reflect on it later, he would wonder why he agreed to join her. The hurried walk back down the hall to her locker was just as silent as it'd been, both lost in their separate thoughts. Deidara concentrated on the sound of their squeaking shoes under them, reflecting on the reason he'd skipped along after the annoying girl.

He didn't like her. At all.

It wasn't the first time Konan had found someone at school she liked, though the first girl had, in the end, lost to Ino. As Sakura soon would. Maybe Konan was lonely and missing the friendship she had gained previously. Even Itachi approved of the girl, though - which never happened. Itachi never approved of anyone he hadn't picked himself. Ever. It just didn't happen.

Perhaps he had foreseen Sasuke's interest in Sakura. Itachi always found things his brother liked fascinating, and vice versa. Though with Sasuke it was probably a longing to have whatever his brother possessed. Deidara raked his fingers through his hair, standing back away from her while the girl opened her locker. What was it about this tiny creature that had everyone so wrapped around her finger?

She had no money; her family's name had no corporation to back it up. She walked like some hunched-up monster, and she obviously spent no time with regards to her appearance. She was a scrawny sort of thin, with no chest or hips--her legs were pale and as thin as her torso. One might pass over her carelessly if not for the strange, eye-catching color of her hair. Even then her hair only kept you distracted until you noticed that it hung down over her face and hid what lie beneath, as if she were an old crone and not a fourteen year old girl.

Deidara's eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched the girl cautiously pull Itachi's coat from within her locker, taking attentive care not to let it touch to floor below. He'd forgotten until just then that Itachi had given it to her previously - he wasn't sure how he'd managed to forget something as monumental as that. She wrapped part of its length over her shoulder and beamed up at him, her smile just visibly under her hair. "A-Alright! I'm r-ready, Deidara-san," she said cheerily, and it was the first time he'd heard her sound happy while near him. "Thank y-you for waiting."

"No problem," he responded carelessly, internally frowning at himself. She wouldn't lure him into her spell, not when she had already drawn so many in. Before his traitors lips could think of something even stupider to say, he turned on heel and began marching back towards his companions. She was truly a dangerous little thing.

Sakura wondered momentarily at the look of utter concentration on Deidara's face, before letting it flow from her mind without second thought. She'd already figured out he didn't like her; probably because she'd been so rude to him the day he'd come personally to rescue her from Sasuke. It had been terribly unkind of her to pull away from his touch like a disease and undoubtedly he was still angry. She pursed her lips, unsure if she should bring the subject up and apologize for it. "Deidara-san?"

He glanced at her with his uncovered eye. "Yeah?"

She liked the color of his eyes. At first Deidara's appearance had reminded her of Ino's and initially it had been the reason she had been terrified of his touch. But the weekend she'd spent at home and the closer evaluation had allowed her to see the small differences in appearance. His eyes were warmer than Ino's; a softer blue. "I-I'm sorry f-for pulling away in the c-car," she stuttered, twisting her hands into the fabric of the jacket to hide her sudden bout of nervousness. "I-It wasn't because I don't l-like you, I was, well..."

Deidara smiled. "Reminded of Ino?" Sakura gaped in surprise and the smile grew - it wasn't a happy smile, however. It was bitter, almost painful. "I suppose no one had ever told you, yeah? Ino is my sister."

"I-I wasn't a-aware," Sakura stuttered, her mind reeling. She'd never heard of Ino having a brother; she'd always been told Ino was an only child. She hoped he might comment more on it, but he remained silent, his smile fading into irritation, though she had a feeling it wasn't directed at her.

Itachi and Konan were once more in sight when he spoke again, his voice soft. "I figured out why you didn't like being near me. It's okay - I don't like being near you either, yeah. Just as I awake painful memories in you, you awake them in me." Deidara reached up and touched his covered eye and then winked with his uncovered. "See you, mm."

Sakura didn't move as she watched him walk not towards his fellow Akatsuki members, but instead towards the exit of the school. The doors falling shut after him caught the attention of Konan, who turned and smiled in relief at the sight of Sakura. "There you are. I was worried it was taking so long! Deidara left?"

Sakura returned the smile shyly, looking up at the girl's familiar face and feeling glad she'd come to school that morning, despite the bad things that had already happened. "Yes, he didn't feel well." Sakura couldn't explain why she had lied for the boy, since she was well aware that Konan was used to his bad attitude and yet she still didn't want him to be admonished for it.

"Of course he didn't." Konan's face was a tad disapproving, but she didn't comment further on it. "Oh, is that Itachi's coat?"

Sakura followed her gaze down to the jacket clutched tightly in her arms, feeling a flush creep over her cheeks. "Yes, that's why we took so long; I wanted to return it."

Konan nodded, "I'm sure he'll be happy. Come on, you can give it back now." Konan placed a gentle hand on the girl's back, ushering her forward towards her senpai. If she'd thought it had been strange that Deidara had wandered off to find Sakura after being told without complaining, it was stranger that Itachi had seemed worried over the girl as well.

Itachi had turned to face them, though he didn't move as the girls approached, his eyes skimming over Sakura for injury. When there was none to find, his face relaxed ever so. Konan, who had known the boy since infanthood, easily spotted the tell-tale signs of emotion and was hard pressed to keep a grin off her lips. "Haruno-san," Itachi greeted the small girl gravely, blinking at the sight of his coat.

Sakura probably shouldn't have been so surprised he knew her name. "A-Ah, thank y-you for l-lending this to m-me, Uchiha-senpai," she stumbled over her words, cursing her stutter.

Itachi reached out for the offered article of clothing, taking in the scent of wild flowers that clung to the fabric. "You're welcome." He told her, the pitch of his voice ever unchanging.

"I-I washed it," she told him in a rush, blushing so darkly it could be seen through her hair. "I h-hope it d-didn't shrink."

He didn't tell her that he had money enough to replace it easily if it had. "Thank you, Haruno-san. I'm sure it didn't." He turned his eyes to Konan, ignoring the knowing smirk she wore without shame. "It is time I left; Deidara and I are late for class. I will be back for you at two, Konan. Please remember that we have a meeting today and do not be late."

"I won't, Itachi-san." Konan finally got her face under control, knowing that she was going to irritate him if she continued to gloat about finding some sort of emotion in him.

"Thank you. Good bye, Haruno-san. Until we meet again." Sakura bowed jerkily with Konan, her heart soaring in her chest, though the reason was unclear. Both girls started when he suddenly turned back towards them, his expression serious. "Also - find a towel for Haruno-san before she catches a cold."

Sakura who had, until that moment, forgotten how wet she was, was all at once very cold. "Oh Sakura-san! I didn't even notice, I'm so sorry," Konan pulled off her own school jacket and motioned for Sakura to remove hers. She placed the warm cloth around the smaller girl and took her hand, tugging the girl towards the gym locker room for some towels. "Thank goodness Itachi notices everything."

--

Hinata breathed a quiet sigh of relief, her heart finally slowing in her chest. It was apparent Ino did not know who had ratted on her to Konan - and at the moment was still too distracted with finding where Sakura was then finding who had told Konan about the plot to gang up on Sakura. Hinata was aware that Hinabi, her younger sister by two grades, was fond of Sakura--and had been since the first day the girls had met. Hinata herself liked Sakura as well, though her cowardice at standing up to Ino kept her from helping the girl a majority of the time. Hinabi, however, was not restricted by fear.

This was her second very obvious strike against Ino. The first had been offering Sakura food when Ino had made it clear to all the girls in the school that no one was allowed to let Sakura eat. But this was far worse by comparison. If Ino found out it was Hinabi who had told Konan what Ino had planned to do to Sakura that morning, Ino's fury would undoubtedly befall the girl, despite their nearly superior standing. Hinata had not wanted to go to Neji for help, though his position in Suna and Suna's alliance with Akatsuki would probably grant them safety. Neji had made it clear that, while they were family, he didn't like them overly much.

Still...If it came to Hinabi's safety, Hinata would have no choice regarding the matter. The girl flinched out of her thoughts as Ino flung Karin's phone across the room with a scream of rage, turning on the girl who had brought her the information next. Hinata closed her eyes as Ino's brutal kick sent the quivering girl to the floor sobbing. Hinata was grateful for her family's high standing in society; the girl now suffering Ino's wrath was not so lucky.

There were girls like Sakura; the upper middle class who were granted a scholarship at the price of being separated by the blue ties they wore and taking orders the other students. The next rank was that of the lower upper class. Girl's whose families had a name for themselves, but not a well-known name. Girl's who had a spending limit and whose parents had to work nine-to-five to keep their income. At Konohagakure these girl's were considered new money, and while they were not always outwardly attacked, they could find themselves at the mercy of girl's like Ino. Even Hinata if she so chose, would easily be able to decimate any of their families business without breaking a sweat. The difference was that Hinata would never choose to do something like that.

Ino was another matter. Like her famous father, Ino was well known for breaking wills and destroying anyone who stood in her way or made her angry. Even Hinata, who had never been on the receiving end of Ino's bad-side, knew better than to attempt to stir it up. "Hinata," Ino snapped, looking across the room at the girl who had stiffened at the sound of her name.

"Yes Ino-sama?" She willed herself not to let her fear show on her face as she kept her voice level and calm.

"My monster has just left with Konan. Retrieve her at once."

"Of course." Hinata rose from her chair, offering a bow of respect to Ino before she hurried from the room, breathing out shakily. The room remained silent after the girl's departure, all eyes on Ino. The blonde drummed her nails hurriedly along the arms of her chair, biting her lower lip tightly.

"Karin," she said, turning her head to look back at the girl.

The red-haired girl rose. "Yes?"

"I want someone monitoring Konan and Itachi. Now." Her fingers stilling in their almost frantic thumping, curling tightly around the arms. "And someone get me Sasuke on the phone."

--

Sakura held still as Konan briskly rubbed her head with a towel, feeling like a child submitting to her mother after a long bath. The thought made the girl smile and she leaned back when Konan announced she was done, shaking her head to let her bangs fall back over her face. "Better?" the blue-haired girl asked, throwing the damp towel at the laundry heap.

"Yes, thank you." Sakura smiled, glad that she had her gym clothes available. She looked over at her uniform hanging on the bathroom stalls to dry, frowning as she did so. Today had been a close call - far too close. She couldn't keep angering Ino or something truly bad would happen. Sakura couldn't imagine what life would be like without her hair - being forced to face her mother on a daily basis. It would probably be similar to her life when the phobia first surfaced, when Sakura had destroyed every mirror in the house. Sixteen stitches on both hands and a house empty of mirrors had been left in her wake.

"I'm sorry I was so late today Sakura-san," Konan said softly, bending down so that their eyes were level. "I had to attend a meeting with Itachi. I have an idea what to do from now on, though. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

Sakura, too touched to reply, allowed Konan to help her rise from the bench and walk out of the locker room to stand in the hall. It wasn't surprising to Sakura that none of their teachers had asked them why they weren't in class--why Sakura's teacher had been conveniently absent when she was attacked. In this world, money and power held the true authority. "Konan-san," Sakura spoke softly, not wanting to disrupt any nearby classrooms. "Who are we waiting for?"

"A friend. A close friend."

Sakura blinked, deciding against asking her more. She'd just have to wait and find out for herself. Instead she asked about something that had been on her mind since it had come to pass that morning: "Konan-san, about Deidara-san..."

"What about him?" Konan glanced down at Sakura from the corner of her eye, amused to find the girl had gone a faint pink and seemed embarrassed to speak. Adorable.

"His eye." Sakura licked her lips, not sure if she was stepping out of line by asking. "I heard he had an accident...Is it true? And, um - is he really Ino's brother?"

"Sadly," Konan muttered. "They are related. It would probably be better if Deidara himself told you one day...but I can fill in the gaps. Yes, Deidara did have an accident, the 'accident' rendered his left eye completely useless."

"Useless?" the smaller girl echoed. "That's terrible...Car accident?"

"I wish it was that simple." Konan shook her head, and for once didn't look cross when speaking about the blonde. Instead her face creased in pain, as if remembering something she'd rather not. "His father..." The girl stopped. "I can't. It's really not my story to tell."

Sakura nodded in understanding and let the conversation die. Her mind however, continued to mull over what she had learned. Sakura had heard that Ino's father--Deidara's father, was a merciless man. It seemed plausible that his cruel mannerisms would follow him into his home. Though the idea a parent could harm a child in such a manner...

_The barrel was cold against the skin of her brow, elegant and sleek as it pressed forward--intent on ending her life. Her mother's fingers, the long fingers that had once combed through the knots in her hair now tightened around the trigger. Words filtered into the panicked haze of her mind, soothing, slow words. It would be over soon, she was promised. She wouldn't feel it. And yet...she couldn't contain the shudder of fear that wracked her body. But she didn't move; mother would never harm her._

"Sakura?" Konan shook her shoulder softly, allowing the girl freedom from the horrific daydream. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sakura responded on autopilot. She wasn't fine though. She would never be fine. "Just thinking is all." The pink-haired girl rolled her shoulders back, firmly refusing to allow herself to dwell on things that had already past. Her mother ruled her life enough as it was; she couldn't let the woman rule her thoughts as well. Konan didn't look convinced, but allowed it to pass as she caught sight of someone over Sakura's shoulder.

"Ah, Temari." The blue-haired girl's lovely face split into a smile as she stepped forward to embrace the new arrival to their small party. "I was wondering when you'd make it."

"I was held up," the blonde replied, looking harassed. "Little miss Ino is not pleased. She's got a search party going." She turned her eyes on Sakura, taking in the girl for a moment. "From the way Ino screeches about you, I'd have thought you'd be fashionable and beautiful. Normally she ignores your kind." She didn't mean it unkindly, and Sakura didn't take it as such. The way she looked didn't really bother her anymore. Past that, Temari was correct; normally only those who posed a certain threat to Ino's top ranking spot as 'prettiest girl' was targeted.

"Who knows what goes on in Ino's mind?" Konan rubbed Sakura's head soothingly, smiling down at the girl. Temari watched the interaction, an unreadable look on her face - it slowly melted into fond amusement.

"Are you going to introduce me, Konan? Or, if not, by all means I'll remain standing here while you pet the girl."

Konan chuckled and removed her hand from the girl's head, moving it to the small of her back and urging her closer to Temari. "Temari, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Temari--a good friend of mine."

Sakura's hand was engulfed in a firm handshake, and she was surprised to find the girl's palm lined with hard calluses. Unlike most of the girl's at their school, Temari's nails were filed down to the ends of her fingers and not painted. She had the hands of someone who worked for their money. Sakura was almost embarrassed that her hands were soft and her nails well kept; her father had insisted on well grooming since she was small and she'd never gone a day without cleaning them religiously. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sakura," the blonde said sincerely and her smile was full of warmth.

"Y-Yes," Sakura mumbled, her cheeks heating as she allowed Temari to break the contact, her hands remaining warm. She liked Temari. She'd heard that Temari was a friendly girl, rough around the edges and armed with a tongue as sharp as a blade, but kind none the less. She was the kind of girl Sakura looked up to; intelligent and fearless, with a sort of compelling beauty to her.

"From now on, Sakura," Konan said, breaking the silence and bringing the conversation back. "When I can not make it in the morning, you will be met at the gates by Temari. She'll be giving you a ride home today, since I have an afternoon meeting to attend with Itachi. From now on, Temari or I will always be with you."

"I-I c-couldn't!" Sakura stuttered vehemently, shaking her head. "I c-cant impose on y-you like that."

"Whoa squirt," Temari protested, delivering a gentle whack to the top of Sakura's head with her fist. "You're not imposing on anyone. I'm not the one driving, anyway - apologize to Kankuro; he does the driving. But besides that, we want to help you out. Ino's been under my damn skin since kindergarten. You're heaven sent, honey. The first girl to get her so riled up in forever."

That made sense, though the thought was slightly depressing. Being helped only because they liked having someone around who annoyed Ino. Then again, protection was protection. "It's really okay, Sakura." Konan grasped her cheeks between her hands and angled Sakura's head up. "You're important to me and I'm going to keep you safe."

Temari deadpanned. "Please you two - no making out in front of me."

"Oh for heavens sake," Konan rolled her eyes. "You sound like Deidara. Besides that, I'm a nee-san, not a love interest."

Sister. The idea made Sakura warm pleasantly. She'd like that--Konan as a big sister. "Nee-san." She tried it out, not missing Konan's look of surprise and felt embarrassed until the older girl grinned, looking immensely pleased.

"So cute," she cooed, squishing Sakura's cheeks slightly. Temari grumbled something behind them, causing Konan to laugh. Sakura wasn't paying much attention, her mind already drifting away. What would her life be like if she'd been born Konan's sister? Would she be graceful and attractive? It was fun imagining having grown up in Konan's world, rich and with a family full of warmth. She came back to reality to find herself being pulled behind Konan, the girl looking at something down the hall, her face pulled into a fierce frown.

Hinata hesitated timidly at the base of the hall, swallowing. "I-I n-need to s-speak to S-Sakura-san," she finally worked out, looking exhausted.

"Hinata-san!" Sakura stepped around Konan and the girl loosened her hold on Sakura's shoulders, assuming that Hinata was safe enough if Sakura wasn't worried.

"I'm s-sorry, Sakura-san." She shook her head. "I-Ino-sama sent m-me to find y-you."

"Hyuuga Hinata, correct?" Konan asked before Sakura could say anything. When Hinata nodded carefully the girl relaxed, letting go of Sakura entirely. "I see. Your sister is Hinabi, I presume?"

"Y-Yes." Hinata already knew where the older girl was aiming the conversation. "I-Ino-sama does not know t-that Hinabi t-told you this morning."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Ino. I appreciate her help, Hyuuga-san."

It was Hinata's turn to relax. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You said you wanted to speak to Sakura," Temari reminded, her arms crossed over her ample chest. "What was it you wanted to say?"

"O-Oh, right. I-Ino-sama is v-very angry. I d-don't think you should return to class."

Sakura tugged thoughtlessly on one of her braids, wondering what Ino's punishment would be for this little mishap. It was unlikely the girl would go easy on her this time. Ino would probably, from Sakura's reaction to her first try, start aiming her attacks towards Sakura's most obvious weak points and her hair would be one of them. Her hands as well; smashing even just one of her fingers would make it difficult for Sakura to draw. But she had a feeling Ino wouldn't hurt her fingers; the girl hadn't ever given Sakura back the drawing she'd confiscated. It had seemed strange to her at the time that Ino had wanted to keep the drawing Sakura had done of her, but eventually she'd stopped wondering about it.

"I know, Hinata-san." Sakura smiled weakly. "But I have t-to go, don't I?" Hinata looked away, her expression sad. The pink-haired girl looked up at Konan, wanting to stay with her and knowing it'd only push her further into Ino's anger if she did. "N-Nee-san." It was embarrassing to say that aloud. The first time had been easy, but the second, more serious one, was harder. Though Konan's pleased expression alleviated most of her initial anxiety over uttering the embarrassing name. "I'm going to go back now."

"Be careful, Sakura." Konan hesitated a moment before lightly embracing the girl, scared to let her go back. "I'll finish drying your uniform and take it to your locker. And remember; Temari will be waiting for you at the front gate. Once you're with her, you're safe."

Sakura nodded, allowing Temari to deliver a pat to her head before hurrying to Hinata's side. The girls watched them rush back to Ino, a sense of foreboding lingering over their heads. "She'll be fine," Konan said just to hear it.

"Ino won't hurt her now. Not when we're so close by." Temari assured her, squeezing her friend's shoulder. "Let's go get her uniform and I'll call Gaara."

--

The room remained silent, all eyes on the blonde sitting silently in the plush office chair, her face deceivingly blank. In her hand a phone continued to ring on without answer. It had become apparent to the room's occupants that, despite breaking up, Ino still had lingering feelings for Sasuke; the news that he intended to date Sakura had silenced Ino's furious words. She'd remained silent until Sasuke had been forced to hang up, having received no reply. The blonde had redialed mere seconds later, and had continued to redial when the phone went unanswered.

The door opening stole everyone's attention and a wave of murmurs filled the silence when a head of messy pink hair was visible over Hinata's shoulder. Ino stopped the call by snapping the phone shut, letting it fall carelessly to the floor. Her hand rose and her fingers extended, beckoning Sakura to her side. "Leave us," she said loudly as Sakura walked towards her timidly.

Around them girls moved out of the room quickly, eyes on their leader and the strange girl who'd captured her attention. Ino's lips turned up ominously, in a poor attempt at a smile. "I missed you," she told the smaller girl, closing her hand around Sakura's wrist when the girl finally reached her side. She pulled the girl down to the floor in front of her and looking down into a hidden face. "Don't ever run away from me again, Sakura."

Sakura's knees throbbed where she'd landed after Ino had yanked her down and her pulse thrummed intermittently in her veins. Ino's eyes were icy, but conveyed an underlining sense of agony. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of it. "I-I'm sorry," she uttered softly, having to force the words out of her mouth.

Ino leaned forward, laying her head atop Sakura's and looking down at the beauty of the pink and gold hair that had twined together. They stayed like that for some time, Sakura uncertain of Ino's intentions and ignoring the pain in her knees from sitting in the awkward position for an extended period of time. Despite the pain, however, it was a welcome change. Lunch passed without a word spoken between them, Sakura's stomach, long used to skipping lunch, made not a sound.

Ino was so hard to understand. Showing outward signs of despising Sakura when in the company of others, but silently clinging to her once the bevy was missing. Perhaps this wasn't anything--it could mean everything or nothing to Ino, and Sakura was inclined to believe the latter. It was probably Ino's idea of a mind fuck that would turn on Sakura the moment she broke the spell cast over them. Sakura couldn't feel her toes by the time the sixth period bell rang, with it sealing Sakura's fate of not getting anything done that day either. School which, until she'd become entrapped in Ino's web, had always front and foremost in her life, was suddenly not there. If the teacher's hadn't been giving her the work she missed in class to do as homework, Sakura would already be falling behind after only a week.

Sakura gasped in shock, her heart lodged firmly in her throat as the piercing ring of Ino's phone startled them both out of the daze. Ino pulled away slowly, a large red mark across her forehead showing where she'd laid against Sakura. She ignored the girl all together, leaning down to retrieve the forgotten phone. "Hello?" she asked softly, her normally intimidating gaze shifted away from Sakura. "Sasuke."

Sakura blinked in surprise at the familiar name, straining to hear the conversation being carried on between them, uncaring of how rude she was being. Sasuke's voice snapped through the connection, sounding as moody and spoiled as ever. "Stop trying to smother Sakura, Ino. She doesn't belong to you."

"She does." Ino insisted on a dangerous hiss and suddenly her hand, lying forgotten on Sakura's shoulder, was twisting painfully into the girl's skin. Sakura bit her lip to keep from loosing the whimper of distress that nearly spilled out. "I saw her first Sasuke. I claimed her first. Find a new conquest."

"I won't."

Ino's gnashed her teeth, flicking the phone shut as she threw it towards the wall, panting heavily. "You belong to me." She turned on Sakura, eyes wild. "You're mine! Don't you _dare_ try to leave me again! I'll make you regret it. I swear I will!" She shoved hard on the girl's shoulders and Sakura, whose legs had begun to cramp, choked on a cry of pain as she fell backwards. Ino loomed over her like a dark cloud who promised rain. "You will never get away from me, monster. I won't allow it."

Tears rolled down the sides of Sakura's face unbidden and she couldn't have stopped them if she tried. Her legs screamed agony - though the tortured screams of her mind were far louder. Again and again she was trapped. In her mother. In Ino. In her own weakness. Forever deemed to suffer. Her eyes faced up as Ino leaned down, her legs trapping on either side of Sakura's waist and her hands above the girl's shoulders. Her face was a mask of madness.

"I don't like causing you pain, monster. If only you'd obey me I wouldn't have to." She leaned forward until their breath mingled and washed over the other's face. "I could love you, Sakura. Wouldn't you like to be my sister?"

No. Sakura wanted to spit it into the girl's face.

"I'll take care of you Sakura. I won't hurt you. You'll be happy." Ino smiled and chose not to notice the tears that plastered fair hair to the sides of Sakura's face. When the girl under her still didn't answer her, the smile melted away and she closed her pale eyes, rising off the ground. When they opened her eyes were black and full of an echoing emptiness. "You'll regret it if you don't obey me, monster. Try to remember that."

Sakura held still, looking up at the high ceiling as Ino's footsteps moved away towards the door and then faded as the girl exited the room. A sob bubbled up in her throat and escaped as the silence of the room pressed down on her. She lifted an arm and dropped it over her eyes, letting her tears soak the scratchy material of her shirt as she allowed herself to cry. Since her mother's death Sakura had cried numerous times, though they were never the heart wrenching sobs that had always called her mother to her side like a beacon. Because her mother wasn't here anymore -- there wasn't ever going to be someone to sit her up when she worked herself into a frenzy and rub her back until they faded into sad hiccups. She'd never be able to hear the soothing voice again that brought the hurt to a bearable level. She'd never allow herself to cry freely ever again.

Because she was painfully alone.

Sakura neared hysterics as she unleashed her heart's anguish on an empty room.

--

The water from the sink was cool against her burning skin and Sakura splashed more of it into her face. She sighed, glad that her hair hid the affects of her crying. As a child her brother had teased her over the lasting effects that came about after Sakura had a good cry. Shaking off the memory, she looked up at the clock on the wall, as glad as ever that the school day was over. She knew she should be hurrying out to meet Temari, but was rooted to the floor of the bathroom, afraid of meeting Ino in the halls.

The haunting words the blonde had left Sakura with hadn't dulled in effect. Terrified of even hearing Ino's name, Sakura had rushed out of the room Ino had left her in and had practically flown to the downstairs bathroom--the one rarely used because of its location. She couldn't live every day like this, but she couldn't escape from it either. Sakura gripped the sink in shaking hands, taking deep breathes to sooth her tightening lungs.

Finally she shoved away from the sink and the mirror above it, turning on heel and marching towards the bathroom door, intent on getting out of the school. Not allowing herself to hesitate, Sakura stepped through the archway and into the darkened halls -- this part of the school had been in a large fire almost three years earlier and had been abandoned since. They'd rebuilt most of the damage, but after a series of mysterious accidents and girls claiming they'd been attacked by ghosts the school had been forced to vacate the area. To most in the school the hall was terrifying, to Sakura if was a safety zone, where no one would think to look for her.

Even seeing a ghost wouldn't keep her from hiding out in the old science corridor. She climbed the stairs to the main hall two at a time, needing to hurry in order to catch Temari just as the final bell rang and warned students that sports practice was about to start and everyone not participating in them should leave. Her locker was near the entrance of the school and, if she didn't mess up her combination, as she was prone to doing, she could beat the crowd out.

She ignored the conversations that halted as she stopped in front of her locker, reaching forward to spin the dial. As usual her first and second attempt to open it was ruined by her shaking hands. She shook out the appendage but before she could resume trying to open the stubborn lock a hand tightened on the dial. She frowned at the short, undecorated nails and then blinked in surprise. "Temari-san."

The girl grinned down at her. "Hello Sakura. Number?"

Sakura glanced around before dropping her voice to a bare whisper. "4-21-6."

Temari spin the numbers in with an expert hand. "I'll get your books and such and your uniform. Why don't you run and get your homework from the teachers? Konan already explained how you get your work to me. I'll wait for you by the car--don't rush."

"T-Thank you," Sakura bowed as she rushed off to do as she was bid, not sure why she trusted Temari so completely with her things. Her teachers didn't ask about her absence in class, nor did they comment on the bruises that wrapped around her slim wrists. They were just as much at risk of being targeted by students as the students themselves were. Sakura sympathized with them; it couldn't be their idea of a job. Teachers came into work wanting to help and guide students and instead they were thrown into the jaws of the spoiled monsters of the upper class.

She shifted the books in her arms, hurrying back to the front of the school once more, though her quick pace didn't last long. Tayuya stood at the end of the hall and Sakura slowed, unsure of what might come to pass if she walked closely to the girl. Tayuya was Ino's third in command, a pretty red-head with a mouth as foul as mouths got. If anything came out of her mouth that wasn't a curse, it was a miracle. Licking her dry lips, Sakura prepared for the worst, surprised as Tayuya did nothing more than look at her blankly.

"Why the fuck are you just standing around? That bitch is waiting for you outside." She shook her head, waving her hands in the air as she spoke to herself about the idiots that surrounded her. "God damn girl, go!" Sakura nodded frantically, moving away as fast as possible and missing the look of amusement that passed over the girl's face. "Sasuke picks the weirdest fucking chicks."

Sakura breathed deeply as she passed through the doors to the freedom that lie beyond. Moving quickly and not spilling the books proved a difficult task, and Sakura was thankful when she finally stepped up beside Temari and was relieved of them. The blonde snickered. "You need to work out, sweetie. You're out of shape."

"Yes," Sakura agreed. Hiding in her room and sulking apparently wasn't very good exercise.

"Hello, princess," a voice chimed out from behind Temari and a moment later she was staring into the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. The breath nearly ripped from her lungs, it took Sakura a moment to notice the whisker marks drawn onto the boy's face with what appeared to be eyeliner. "I'm Naruto. Uzumaki, Naruto and you look just like my mother."

"Naruto you dumbass." Temari elbowed him square in the center of his forehead, smirking when he yelped in shock. "That is the worst way to greet a woman. 'You look just like my mother!'," she mocked his voice and shook her head. "This is why you're never going to get a girlfriend."

"I resent that!" Naruto came back staggering, rubbing the mark on his forehead. "She _does_ look like my mother. Seriously!"

Temari groaned. "You're missing the point! If you want a girl to like you can't _compare her to your mother_! It's weird."

Sakura followed the exchange, glad to find they seemed to be as jovial and fun as Deidara and Konan's exchanges always proved to be. Naruto stopped arguing, reaching into his back pocket and coming back with a stuffed frog wallet. Temari and Sakura watched as he rooted around in it, pulling a picture from its fat depth. Sakura was suddenly faced with the picture of a lovely woman with long red hair and a smile as brilliant as her sons.

"See. You could be cousins or something!"

"Kushina's hair is a completely different color, you idiot. And besides, Sakura's hair covers her face--how do you know what she looks like?"

"Sakura-chan is very pretty." Naruto pouted. "How can't you tell?"

"How can you?" the girl muttered in reply. "You're so strange, Naruto."

"This is all nice and everything," a voice said from inside the car, sounding irritated. "But would you guys get in the fucking car already? I'm not a damn chauffeur. I **will **drive off without you."

"Stop whining Kankuro," Temari scolded, though she pushed Naruto into the front seat and ushered Sakura into the back anyway. Sakura groveled out thanks to Kankuro once inside, surprising all occupants of the small vehicle. Once she was finished, her head hanging low and her visible ears pink, Kankuro inflated.

"At least someone appreciates my hard work." He nodded, impressed. "I like you Sakura."

The pink darkened into red and Temari burst out laughing. "You're so easy to woo, brother. I fear who you'll end up marrying."

The smug grin dropped instantly. "I feel bad for Shikamaru. He's engaged to a...," he lowered his voice at the last moment and Temari's eyes narrowed into slits, her grin turning ugly.

"What did you just call me? I dare you to call me it again! I'll tell Konan you play with dolls!"

"God damn it--no I don't! Puppets! They're puppets!"

"Dolls," Naruto agreed, forcing himself into their argument. Sakura finally raised her head, forced to smile at the turn the conversation had taken. It was amazing, that they could argue, but not mean any of it. There was no chill in the air, no lingering hatred. The girl closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat. It would be nice, she decided, to be apart of this.

"Oh no!" They stopped arguing, looking back at Sakura's shell-shocked expression.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Temari asked slowly, worried.

"O-Oh, n-nothing," Sakura mumbled. "I forgot a book. Nothing big."

--

Sasuke stood silently outside the school's gates, the twitch above his eye becoming more prominent with each moment that Sakura did not arrive. "She stood me up," he growled, disbelief coloring his words. "I can't believe this."

* * *

I don't think I've ever written such a large chapter before. Ever. Thirteen pages in word document and some 7,900 words. I'm exhausted.

_**HEY!**_ Now that I have your attention, or at least I _should_ have your attention, I can say something. For those of you paying close attention, you'll have noticed that Ino thinks Sakura's mother walked out on her father. She's happily unaware that Sakura's mother is in fact dead. And, that Ino herself has a side of her that we haven't yet seen - the unstable, fragile side. The really, really scary side.

This story is only just beginning to pick up. Also, for those of you asking about pairings - I already know how this story is going to end, and I've left that ending open on purpose. Within the next six to eight chapters all of Sakura's romantic interests should have been introduced. When they are, I'm going to open a poll and let you guys vote on who you think she should be paired off with. Yeah, I'm a sweetheart; **you** get to choose Sakura's dream man. It'll be interesting to see who you're all pulling for.

So please review, I know you people are reading this! Feel free to rant away, just send me a response, okay? It makes two days without doing my homework and three god-awful energy drinks worth while.


	7. Unexpected Ally

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix?

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Seven: Unexpected Ally

* * *

"I am interested, Uchiha-san," Temari said, voice dripping with an unchecked distain. "In knowing why you are here. It's very unattractive to hound an uninterested girl, you know."

Sasuke, who had been standing nervously outside Sakura's house since five am waiting for her to come out for school, stared back with an angry glare. The previous day, after waiting for Sakura outside her school for almost three hours, the boy had called her house - thinking the worst; Ino had put her into the hospital and no one had thought to contact him. That she'd been abducted by aliens. Anything.

The relief that had flooded through him when her voice came to him through the phone was staggering. Upon reflection, Sasuke found it had been a very good idea to get her home phone number from the school. Of course, after the mind-numbing fear and following relief, Sasuke had been so humiliated by his worry he'd been forced to hang up as quickly as was possible. It terrified him how quickly he'd begun to view Sakura as something precious, something unworthy of his affections. As unworthy as he was of her, though, he still enjoyed her company. Her lips too, obviously.

Though the latter was less important to him. Sakura was - as he'd come to find, after being stood up in favor of the idiot trio from Sunagakure (he was appalled by her lack of good judgment in being seen with those imbeciles) - a girl with a mind of her own. And a will to match it. Though he hadn't seen much of her stony interior, Sasuke had no doubts of it being there. Sakura was layered, and he'd only just begun to peel them away to see what lie beneath.

"I thought you were more intelligent than that, Sabaki-chan," Sasuke replied with equal venom. "You should know why I'm here."

Temari snorted; it figured the jerk would totally ignore the second half of her sentence. "It doesn't matter if you are here for Sakura - she's not going to go with you. Even a moron like you should be able to tell when someone doesn't like them."

Sasuke frowned, but it wasn't a look of annoyance. "Yes. I do know." He smiled suddenly, though it was strained and stretched awkwardly over his face. "But I don't care. I just want to see her."

Temari mulled over his words, and when she didn't respond, Sasuke returned to looking up at the cheerily-painted house, his eyes focused on a second story bedroom window. She had no doubts of it being Sakura's room. The girl studied Sasuke's face, taking in the wistful note with a touch of amusement. Well. This was interesting. It wasn't everyday one came upon a love sick Uchiha. "Kankuro," she murmured softly into the open window, not moving so that she didn't catch Sasuke's attention.

"What?" The boy muttered from inside the car, annoyed that she'd woken him from his attempt to get a little more sleep.

"Do we have a camera in there? If not give me your phone." She grinned when the boy handed the small phone out to her without question, already closing his eyes again. Temari flipped open the phone, clicking through the menu and nodding in satisfaction when it turned to camera mode. She studied the ground below for a moment through the phone's screen before turning it up to Sasuke's angst ridden face. He blinked when a flash lit up the surrounding area, pausing at the sight of Temari's snickering visage.

"What are you doing, woman?" he demanded on a huff, turning to face her.

"Making sure I got good, solid proof that you're not a frigid ass like your brother. Granted, of course, that Itachi is much more pleasant a person to be around."

"There's nothing pleasant about him." Sasuke snapped, clenching his fist tightly. "So I think you'd best shut the hell up. Don't think I won't hesitate to hit you; I don't consider you a girl."

"Neither do I," Kankuro added his input in a cheery voice, and was prepared a moment later when Temari reached into the car to throttle him for it. She got a good gonk in and he rubbed the tender lump on his head, though he didn't regret it one bit. It was always nice to pay his sister back for her insults - though it was unfair he couldn't return the favor and give her head a few lumps in return.

Sasuke's face had gone flat. "Even your family members agree."

"He's adopted." Temari replied carelessly, half wishing it was true. The fight was distracted by the sound of Sakura's front door creaking open and a moment later a head of pink hair peeked timidly around. Large green eyes could be barely seen through the scraggly bed-head state of Sakura's hair, and, looking down, one could catch a glimpse of the smiling brown-bears printed on her pajamas. Sasuke smiled warmly, and it lit up his face; Sakura really was terribly cute.

"T-Temari-san!" The girl squeaked, biting her lip at the sight of Sasuke. "I--I'll be o-out in a m-moment, okay? I'm s-sorry for the wait."

"Its fine, Sakura," Temari told the girl smoothly, waving her apology away. "Just take your time. We've got awhile." She cast a meaningful look over at Sasuke, freaked out by the loving, happy rays of sunshine dancing around his face. She was so used the dark, angry way he presented himself, that anything else was beyond strange. She lifted the phone once more, snapping another photograph. She could make money of these damn things.

Despite what both Uchiha brothers said, even Temari knew that deep down they still loved each other dearly. One family scandal wasn't enough to shake a relationship like theirs. In fact, if she was going to find someone to buy these pictures, it would probably be to Itachi. Though the teen tried to hide it, he had a serious brother complex. While strangely horrifying, it was also adorable.

Sasuke didn't even notice the second picture being taken and Temari took the time to take a few more careful shots, trying to get them just right. Forget Itachi - she could make a fortune off these at her school. Countless girls would pay hundreds for a candid shot of the beloved ice prince. "Could you stop being obsessive, Temari?" Kankuro muttered, rolling his eyes, "are you in love with the Uchiha or something?"

"Don't be a moron," Temari snapped, annoyed that Kankuro's obnoxious voice had alerted Sasuke to the fact he was being photographed once more. The boy frowned nastily - and the look he now presented wouldn't buy Temari a soda from the machine, she sighed in response, lowering the phone unwillingly. "Thank you Kankuro, for buying me lunch today."

Her brother shrunk back against the seat, knowing all too well the pitch of her voice meant trouble. He didn't protest when she walked around the car to remove a twenty from his wallet. Nor did he speak when she proceeded to take another after a moment of silently contemplating the fat wad of bills in the brown wallet. She slipped the stolen bills into her back pocket before glancing up at her brother curiously.

"You're not buying drugs, are you?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I do, however, have a _job_ today. I'll be needing it."

The blonde nodded in understanding, dropping his wallet back into his bag and retreating from the car. "Is Gaara going?" she asked simply, her brows furrowing.

"No - he's going to stay. The meeting is still on this afternoon."

Temari nodded, though from the look on her face she wasn't paying attention to him anymore. "I'll take Sakura," she decided, missing the look of surprise that filtered through onto Kankuro's face. "Konan asked me to keep her occupied after school today; something with Ino."

The brown-haired boy shrugged large shoulders, not concerned with the on goings of females. "If you say so. Just be careful," Kankuro's face lost the lighthearted look it normally wore, and for once he looked his age. "I don't like you getting mixed up with Ino. Sasuke," he shrugged. "Sasuke puts up a front, but over all he's not dangerous--not when Itachi's on our side. But Ino..."

Temari nodded, not saying anything. Though the Uchiha family ruled at the top; holding the most power overall (followed closely by the Hyuuga), it wasn't by much. The Yamanaka family had raised themselves up through underhanded tactics and had continued to flourish through the cruelty of Ino's father. Temari had never seen the man - he took his privacy and security seriously. But she knew Deidara well enough to know that a man willing to rip out his child's eye, was fully prepared to fight dirty. And Ino seemed to be taking after him; getting rid of girl's at her school left and right simply because they irritated her.

When Ino tired of tormenting Sakura, it would be difficult for Konan and herself to keep Sakura in the school. Temari bit her nail in thought. It would be even harder considering Sakura's father worked in the Yamanaka building. "I know Kankuro," she finally answered, letting her nail free from the punishing grip of her teeth. "But I'll be okay. Don't worry that tiny brain of yours, ne?"

Kankuro ignored the jab. "I'm serious, Temari. There's only so much Gaara and I can do to keep you safe."

"Stop worrying. As it stands now in our school, I'm still ranked twice as high as Ino."

"I suppose." Kankuro rolled his shoulders back, catching Sasuke lift his phone to answer a call from the corner of his eye. "Just be careful anyway."

"I will, I will. You're such an old man." Temari, who had also noticed the dark boy's sudden phone call, strained to hear what Sasuke was saying, her head tilted to the side to better catch the words being said. Sasuke glared at her when he finally noticed, turning his back to her and lowering his voice.

Orochimaru blinked at the sudden drop in his pitch. "Sasuke?"

"It's nothing," the boy assured the older man. He couldn't ever get peace from girls--not even the ones who didn't want into his pants. He sighed. "So Itachi arrived at the meeting?"

"Yes," the man answered, waving at Kabuto to wait in the doorway when the boy started to leave. "I've got Kabuto here Sasuke, so I need to go. You should be thankful to your brother for doing this for you."

"He's not doing it for me." Sasuke mumbled grouchily.

"Of course he's not." Orochimaru wondered sometimes how he allowed Sasuke to grow up such a whiner. Considering the boy's past, however, it made sense he'd whine to the people he knew actually cared for him; it was probably the only reason the boy didn't receive more whacks upside his head. "Have you seen Sakura-chan yet?"

Sasuke frowned. "How do you know?"

"I know everything, my dear boy." Orochimaru ignored Kabuto's flat look - considering it was Kabuto who had informed the man that Sasuke had been worried about Sakura and had gone to see her that morning, he had reason to be annoyed. "Play nicely, Sasuke. She's been through a lot in her life, and she doesn't need grief from you."

"I know." Sasuke looked up at the girl's bedroom window again, wondering if she was still changing or if she was grabbing something to eat in the kitchen. "I just..."

A rare, warm smile filtered across Orochimaru's face, and he spun around in his chair, glad Sasuke was finally experimenting in love. "Relax Sasuke. Take this slowly. And get her flowers."

The boy blinked stupidly. "Flowers?"

"Flowers," he was assured.

"Girls...really like flowers?" Sasuke, who'd only ever bought girls the things they had begged him for while on dates, wasn't truly experienced in giving gifts. Not to mention the fact that he'd never cared even a little for the girls on a deeper level, nor did they return any true feelings for him. Most of the girl's he'd dated had been after the money in his bank account, or liked the idea of being seen with him in public. "I'm trusting you."

The pale man covered an amused smirk under his hand. "As you should. I'm going now, Sasuke. Say hi to Sakura-chan for me."

"Whatever," Sasuke ended the call just as the front door to Sakura's house swung open, revealing the small girl dressed in her uniform, hair brushed into tidy braids hanging down her back. Her bangs were tugged into her face and beneath the silky strands of hair her flushed cheeks were visible. He had to pinch himself harshly to keep from grinning like an ass. God knows how many pictures Temari had gotten of him previously when he'd been so careless. Uchiha's weren't supposed to have emotions. His father would disown him if he ever caught sight of the pictures.

Sakura nearly tripped over the last few steps in her haste, catching herself before she fell. Her mother poked her head around the door and Sasuke tilted his head in response; the two looked nothing alike. Her mother had a shaded complexion; black hair and blacker eyes. Her skin was a creamy tan, which most girls tried to recreate in tanning salons and instead ended up looking a strange Oompa Loompa orange. Compared to Sakura's fair, alabaster skin, this woman was dark. Somehow, Sasuke got the feeling that they weren't actually related at all.

"Are you alright, dear?" The woman asked, coming out of the house with a small brown bag.

"I'm f-fine mom," Sakura replied, blushing darkly. "T-Thanks." She took the lunch that was offered out to her, returning her mother's sweet smile. She waited until the woman had reentered the house before turning to the situation she was faced with. She couldn't just get into Temari's car and pretend Sasuke wasn't there; what if he got angry? And she most certainly didn't want to ride with Sasuke and have to watch out for grabby hands.

To her confusion, the choice was made for her. Sasuke smiled warmly, looking incredibly relieved and worn out. But his smile, despite the weariness in his eyes, was full of happiness. Cheeks flushed, head tilted to the side ever so, gave him the appearance of a small boy, happy to see a parent again after their long trip away. Sakura wasn't sure why it made her heart lurch painfully in her chest. It might have been that beneath the joy his smile presented, there was a bone chilling sadness in him. The black-haired boy bowed and once he'd straightened from it, turned to his car without a word.

Sakura's hand tightened and she barely stopped herself before calling out to him. She wouldn't fall prey to his sadness no matter how it called out to her. Sakura shook her head and faced Temari, who was studying her in silent appraisal. "Morning Sakura."

"G-Good morning, Temari-san." She scurried over to the car, raising her hand in greeting to the siblings. "Hello K-Kankuro-san."

The boy grinned cheerfully at her. "Hi, Sakura. We're running a little late; we've got to pick up some idiots this morning."

Sakura's eyes widened as she rushed into the car. "I'm so s-sorry. Had I known I'd have g-gotten ready m-much faster!"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura. The only ones who'll be late is them; it's their own fault for waiting until the last minute to call and ask for a ride to school." Temari nodded as she spoke. "Oh, also. I've got good news for you!"

Sakura took the bait proffered, interested in the pleased look on Temari's face. "Good n-news?"

"Ino will be absent from school today. All day. Which means you get to play with me today - since, sadly, Konan will also be absent."

"N-Nee-Konan-san?" Sakura corrected, embarrassed she'd let that slip.

Temari chuckled. "Nee-san is fine, Sakura. You wouldn't believe how much she gushed over the fact you'd called her it yesterday. And I'll be your aneue, mm?"

"I call aniki!" Kankuro broke in, smoothly sliding to a stop at a traffic light. He sent Sakura a pleased look through the rearview mirror and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Some big brother you are." The blonde girl snorted.

"You're not much of a big sister either!" the boy rebutted. "So violent. Your manners are hideous."

"I dare you to say that again," Temari snarled, gnashing her teeth at him. "Don't say stupid things in front of my imouto."

"If she's your little sister, she's mine as well." Kankuro huffed. Sakura's chest warmed, amazed that in less that a month she'd gained such a warm family. Suddenly, the fact that she'd caught Ino's attention really didn't matter anymore - while an ongoing battle against her own weakness, it had also allowed her to find people who would really love her.

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura blinked herself out of her daze, amazed to find they'd already arrived at what appeared to be Naruto's house. The blonde was scurrying towards them, waving frantically, his face pulled into a sunny smile. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!"

It was hard not to smile back at the boy; his laughter and good mood were incredibly contagious. Over his shoulder a pretty girl with long black hair was speaking to a woman Sakura recognized from the picture Naruto had shown her the day before. Kushina Uzumaki. Her picture really didn't do justice to the beauty of her face and hair. Naruto flung open the door to the car, grabbing Sakura's wrist and tugging lightly before she could even begin to comprehend that he had crossed the yard in a matter of seconds.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! I want you to meet my mom!"

"Naruto we don't have time--," Temari tried.

"Bull frogs." Naruto huffed, "we're already late. Who cares, anyway?" Sakura didn't resist as she was pulled out of the car and up the sloping drive. She hung behind Naruto nervously as they came to a stop in front of the beautiful woman, unsure of what to say. As much as she liked Naruto, she really wouldn't mind kicking his butt around the yard for forcing her to fend for herself in the company of a complete stranger.

"Hello," Naruto's mother beamed at them and the black-haired girl standing beside her inclined her head in greeting. Sakura took a moment to wonder at the girl's perfectly arranged features, chest tightening in awe. Hazel eyes warmed.

"Sakura-san I presume?" the girl asked, inclining a hand out in greeting. "I'm Haku. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"A-Ah," Sakura reached out hesitantly, stammering nervously. "Y-Yes, t-thank you."

Kushina extended her hand next. "I've heard so much about you, dear. I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Isn't she pretty?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, bursting into the conversation with a flourish.

"You're embarrassing her, Naruto," Haku pointed out, noting the pink tint of the girl's ears and the small choking noise she'd begun to make.

Kushina covered a giggle with an elegant hand. "But, yes; she is very pretty. Now, as much as I enjoy speaking with you all, you're going to be late for school. And unfortunately for you dear," she said to Naruto and the look she fixed him with was full of parental scolding. The kind of look only a mother could pull off. "You've skipped school so much you're going to start failing soon." She glanced back to Sakura, the fierce look fading as quickly as it'd come. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon Sakura-san. In fact - Naruto is having a party Saturday with most of his friends...my poor house. Temari-san will be here as well. You should come."

"U-Uh...I..." Sakura, who'd never been invited to anything in her life, was uncertain how one should reply. She stared blankly at the woman until Naruto gently prodded her side. "Oh...t-thank you. I-I'd love to."

"Yay!" Naruto bounced happily, slinging an arm over Sakura's shoulders. "Come on Sakura-chan, I'll tell you all about the party!"

Bright red and rendered speechless, Sakura stumbled back down the drive after him, barely noticing Haku moved to follow after them. Kushina, by now well used to her child coming and going without warning, waved after them and stepped back into the large house, the door snapping shut softly behind her. Sakura looked back at the well groomed yard and marveled at the welcoming aura. She had a feeling Kushina and her mother would get along well.

"I'm glad," Naruto confessed as they approached the car. "Mom really likes you."

"She d-does?"

The boy nodded, an almost blissful expression on his face. "I announced to her that I'd like to adopt you--I mean, if the doll princess--"

"I heard that," Kankuro grumbled, paranoia making him adept to catching people speaking about him.

"--Gets to be your brother, I should get to be one too. Right?"

"Y-Yes?"

The blonde nodded, the same spaced out look on his face. Sakura followed him into the backseat, musing over just how strange Naruto was. Despite the strangeness, she liked him the most of anyone she'd met so far - he was so similar...Sakura clenched her hand into a fist, determined not to notice the connection between Naruto and her brother. "Temari-san," Haku, sitting neatly beside Sakura with her hands folded into her lap, spoke gently, with a harmonious voice Sakura was instantly drawn to. "About the meeting tonight."

"Yeah?" The girl glanced back from the front seat.

"I'll not be able to attend tonight. I have some errands Pein-san asked me to run."

Temari started. "Again? Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"Man things really are heating up." She scratched a hand through her unruly hair. "Is Shino going as well?"

The girl shook her head, sending black hair spilling around her face. "No. He's going to stay behind this time; Kisame will be going with me in his place today."

Sakura, who felt as though a foreign language was being spoken in front of her, stopped paying attention. It was likely things she shouldn't find out about, nor should she _want_ to. Even a "family" had secrets they didn't like to share - Sakura was one of them. She wouldn't ask them to tell her things, when she couldn't even be wholly honest with them. The drive to school was filled with soft murmurs about where Haku was going, when she would be back, and then, as the car came to a stop before the wide gates of the school, Temari fiercely insisted the girl be careful.

Haku smiled. "You worry too much, Temari. I'll be fine."

"Humph. I wonder sometimes."

Sakura received a crushing hug from Naruto before she could exit the car, and, as much as she appreciated his affectionate parting, he really needed to learn to control the amount of force he used. Sakura wheezed out a goodbye, thankful when Temari kicked the blonde back into the car and shouted obscenities at him. They watched the vehicle roar away and back onto the main road, both girls blinking when Naruto rolled down his window to lean half-out.

Haku held onto the back of the blonde's shirt to keep him from falling out of the vehicle. Unconcerned, he leaned farther out and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Temari smells dirty underwear!"

Temari twitched almost violently, her cheeks flaming in angry color. "You idiot! That doesn't even make sense!"

"Panty sniffer!" Was the last thing they were able to catch as Kankuro rounded a corner and the blonde hair disappeared into the buildings. Temari turned on heel, marching angrily towards the locked gates of the school. Sakura could practically see steam rising from her head.

"When I get my hands on that dumbass," she muttered, tossing her book bags over the large fence and rolling her shoulders. "Wait here, Sakura. I'm going to jump over and unlock the gates."

Sakura stared up the some seven foot fence and paled. "Are y-you sure...?"

"I'll be fine." Temari insisted, "I've climbed higher." The pink-haired girl cast one more worried glance up at the sharp points lining the top of the metal posts before nodding and moving back to watch. It was times like this she wished she owned a cell phone. It'd be hard to contact someone if Temari fell, without screaming or running a block. But, as it turned out, her concern was unnecessary. With practiced ease, Temari grasped the thin black metal fencing in both hands and hoisted herself up. She slipped her hands higher, bracing her weight back on her legs and was at the top in a matter of seconds, leaping down to the ground as if the distance was no more than a foot. She hit the ground on a slight roll, popping up without hesitation and smirking in satisfaction.

"Piece of cake." She grabbed her bag off the ground, brushing off strands of grass that remained on the thick material. Moments later the gate was swinging open to allow Sakura access to what lie beyond. Instead of entering however, she stared blankly at the snapped lock lying at Temari's feet. "Impressed?"

She glanced up at Temari, disbelief coloring her words. "Y-You--your h-hand?"

The blonde held up her hand and relaxed her fingers, allowing small fragments of shattered metal to fall to the ground. "Practice."

"I t-think it's a l-little more than p-practice!"

Temari laughed heartily, thumping Sakura on the back lightly and ushering her into the school. "You don't know much about my family, do you? I wouldn't have expected you to though."

"Your family?"

"Family business. Art thieves." Temari grinned down at the girl, enjoying herself. She paused, using a finger to push back up Sakura's dropped jaw. "Don't worry; were mostly harmless."

Sakura squeaked, "m-mostly?"

"Ah. We only eat naughty children. You're not naughty, right Sakura?"

"N-No?"

"I didn't think so." Temari was grinning, and it was obvious from her jovial attitude that she enjoyed telling people about her family's line of work. A lot. "You don't need to look so worried Sakura. Mostly we buy and sell works of art, but on occasion...we get _work_. People hire us to steal back what was stolen from them, though we do some uncalled for stealing on occasion."

Sakura started in sudden realization. "Then Haku-san, she was--?"

Temari looked at her as if she'd just spoken Pig Latin. "She?"

Sakura stared back at her, just as idiotically. "Y-Yes?"

Surprising both of them, Temari burst into nearly hysterical laughter, slapping her thigh as she succumbed to mirth. "You," she gasped around a sob. "You think Haku is a girl?"

"Oh m-my," Sakura mumbled, face flooding with color as she understood the reason for Temari's amusement. "Haku-san is a b-boy!"

"That's just too good." Temari wiped the tears that had gathered in her eyes away and shook her head. "Why else would he be wearing the _boy's_ uniform?"

"I--I wasn't sure. He's s-so beautiful."

Sakura's words sent Temari into another round of laughter, her face bright red by the time she'd managed to calm down. "Sakura you've just made my day, you know that?" The blonde slung an around the smaller girl and pulled her into the crook of her arm. "Geez. Haku a girl. Don't ever let him hear you say that, okay? Now--what were you going to say?"

Still recovering, Sakura tried to think back and unscramble her thoughts. "R-Right. So H-Haku-san, **he's** going on a mission. Is he going to steal something?" At the older girl's look of shock, Sakura hurriedly back peddled, worried she'd managed to offend the girl. "I k-know its n-none of m-m-my b-business. I s-shouldn't h-have asked." Her distress caused her stuttering to increase drastically.

"No, no," Temari murmured, looking thoughtful. "It's fine Sakura. To answer your question - no. Haku isn't going to steal anything. He's not even working for Suna tonight. He's doing some work with Akatsuki...it's not work I approve of, though." She sighed softly. "But there's not much I can do about it. Ah! Kankuro, however, does have some family business to attend to!"

"F-Family business?"

The girl nodded, "he'll be buying artwork for a customer. Stealing some too." She added with a secretive wink.

"Temari-san...why is it you t-trust me with t-this information?"

"You know, it's interesting you bring that up, Sakura. Honestly, I have no idea. It may be because Konan trusts you, and her instincts are always spot-on. It could be that your placement in this world calls out to me. Or maybe it's neither. I just have a feeling about you." She grinned. "Okay so maybe I don't always have the best luck with these things, but something about you assures me I won't be disappointed."

Sakura remained silent after the confession, letting the words sink into her mind. Somehow, she knew exactly what Temari meant.

--------

Entering her classroom, a pass clutched tightly in her shaking hand, Sakura was unprepared for the total lack of care the girls in the room showed towards her arrival. Not trusting herself to relax and be thankful Ino hadn't come into school that morning, Sakura bowed respectfully, handing the note across the desk into the hands of her silent teacher. Her finished homework followed it moments later. Sakura accepted the worksheet that was passed back to her, bowing once more before she turned towards her desk. No one looked up as she passed down the isle towards her desk, the tension growing stronger with each passing moment.

Hushed whispers filled the classroom as she opened her textbook, laying the worksheet out beside it. Sakura kept her head down, clicking lead into her mechanical pencil and trying to focus on the work that she'd been given. She'd missed so much work in the past two weeks that all of her hard work in her classes was beginning to unravel - a fact proven by the equations under her that might as well have been Chinese for all she could understand them. Letting loose an inaudible sigh, Sakura turned back a few pages in her book and settled down to read the previous explanations on what she was working on.

Nearly twenty minutes later, towards the end of the class, Sakura was disturbed from a particularly tricky problem by a small folded letter landing softly on her desk and sliding towards her hand. She instantly looked up, frowning as the girls around her giggled together. An inside joke, apparently. Sakura bit her lip and picked up the folded parchment, gently smoothing the creases from it. _Don't be so cocky, bitch. You'll get what's coming to you._ Was written in smooth, flowing cursive.

Karin, Ino's closest and oldest friend - first in command under Ino herself - waved her fingers in a mocking greeting. Stomach sinking, Sakura realized that even without Ino, the hazing wasn't going to stop. Resolved not to worry about it until she was in the hall--and fully at Karin's wrath--Sakura returned her attention to her work, which was surprisingly easy once she'd reviewed what she'd missed during her previous absences.

However, the nagging feeling of being watched made it hard to concentrate on the numbers and soon they'd begun to blur together. Momentarily allowing herself to selfishly wish Temari was there to protect her, Sakura ducked her head lower. How she was going to make it through three more years of this, Sakura wasn't sure. It wasn't going to be easy though, and at the present, it seemed an impossible dream that she might one day be free of this school.

The bell began to ring, the pleasant tune sounding more like a death toll to Sakura who stood on shaking legs to gather up her papers. She'd finished most of the problems and wasn't worried about what she hadn't completed. When she handed over the completed papers, Karin dropped an arm around her shoulders. "Hello Sakura. The work wasn't very hard today was it?" The girl asked chattily, leading the trembling girl towards the exit.

"N-No," the smaller girl stammered, praying that Temari hadn't forgotten her promise to walk Sakura to her classes.

"I forget sometimes that you blue-tie commoners have to be intelligent to pass through the exams. Since, unlike the rest of us, you can't pay your way through." Karin smiled, her pretty face warming. "But that intelligence doesn't seem to pass into the rest of your life, does it Sakura-chan? Mm?" The red-head tightened her hold on the smaller girl until she felt Sakura shudder in pain.

"Karin-onee stop it."

"Ah, Tayuya." Now in the hall, girls surrounding them on all sides, Karin allowed herself to be openly hostile, shoving Sakura away from her body violently and into the crowd of girls. They pushed the girl back to the floor like she was a filthy toy, though they never looked away from the two girls now glaring at one another. Karin fixed Tayuya with a nasty look, brushing uneven hair over her shoulder with a manicured hand. "Furthering your betrayal of Ino-sama even more, huh?"

"I was never loyal to Ino like you, onee-san." Tayuya explained patiently.

"Oh no. Instead you're loyal to that freak Orochimaru, right?"

Tayuya's eyes hardened. "I would prefer you not speak of Orochimaru-sama like that."

"I'll speak about that bastard however I damn well please." She dropped her hands onto her hips, a sarcastic note touching her words. "So what then? Orochimaru-chan told you to protect this stupid girl? Why--what the hell is so precious about her? Ino-sama is a thousand times prettier than this dog!" A ripple of agreement passed through the circle of girls and Tayuya huffed in response.

"If you're so interested in knowing ask Orochimaru-sama. Now move out of the fucking way - I can no longer allow you to harm Sakura-sama."

"Sama? SAMA?" Karin roared, reaching out and grabbing her younger sister harshly by her collar. Tayuya gasped as her air was cut off instantly in the punishing grip, forced back by Karin's rage. "How _dare you_! Our family has been loyal to the Yamanaka's for generations--I will not stand for this blatant betrayal!"

"S-Stop!" Sakura begged, pulling on Karin's arm, bringing herself back to attention suddenly. "Y-Y-You're h-hurting h-her!"

Startled, Karin loosened her grip, staring at Sakura in confusion. She'd never seen the girl speak more than a few fearful words, let alone physically lash out - not to mention the fact she hadn't seen the girl move. Tayuya retched, grasping her throat lightly and feeling at the trickle of blood where Karin's nails had broken skin. Already, dark bruises had begun to stand out on her pale skin. Sakura knelt beside the red-head, hands clenched as she hovered, unsure of what to do.

"I'm fine," Tayuya murmured, brushing aside Sakura's concern and using the lockers behind her to stand. She caught the flash of guilt that passed through her sister's eyes and sighed in response. "Onee-san...I'm not--that is...I'm my own person. I have my own dreams and I don't intend to be tied down by a promise made a hundred fucking years ago."

Karin's eyes had a flat, empty look to them. "Don't you dare try to come home again - not until you've seen what a fool you're being. And you," she turned to Sakura, dangerously angry. "The next time you stand in my way, I won't hold back."

Sakura watched the girl shove her way through the bystanders, head dropping as she studied her shoes. "You should hurry up and go to your damn class already. Temari got held up. Shit," the girl winced, smearing blood up to her ear.

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked back up at Tayuya. "Then you w-were h-here because of me?" She paused, "I-I've n-never heard you c-curse so little before..." As she spoke, Sakura stooped to open her bag and pull a pristine white handkerchief out and hand it over to the other girl.

The girl blinked at her. "Where the hell did that fucking come from?"

"I-I a-apologize," blushing darkly Sakura stammered, waving her hands around, sending the cloth fluttering around in the air. "It's j-just you n-normally curse so m-much more!"

"I guess." Tayuya rubbed a hand over her throat, wondering the amount of bruising she'd gained from the attack. She didn't doubt it would be ugly; her sister was quite strong. "Well? Did you hear me you idiot? - I said go to your shitty class."

"O-Oh, r-right." Sakura paused in uncertainty and then bowed deeply. "T-Thank you very m-much, T-Tayuya-san." She handed the handkerchief over, grinning when Tayuya took it slowly, frowning.

The red-head stared at the girl in front of her in silent, thoughtful contemplation before turning her head to the side to hide her slight smile. She tightened her fingers around the little white strip of decorated cloth. "Yeah, yeah. Just fucking go away."

Sakura nodded and turned away, glad that most of the girls had left with Karin. It should give her enough time to get to her next class without anymore incident. Or at least very little incident. Tayuya watched the small girl scurry away, groaning softly as she pulled her cell phone from within her pocket. Flipping through the numbers in her phone she settled on one, letting her head droop back against the chilled lockers. "Yeah, I know you jackass," she snapped back into the phone when Kabuto's snide voice passed over the line. She really disliked the asshole. "Put me on the phone with Orochimaru-sama before I'm forced to castrate your stupid ass."

"Tayuya-chan you really shouldn't be so rude to poor Kabuto-kun." Orochimaru said softly, though he didn't sound reproving.

"I'm sorry sir," she groveled anyway, cursing the white-haired boy a million deaths. "That moron just gets on my nerves."

Orochimaru smirked. "I've gathered as much. Now--what did you want to speak to me about?"

"Ah." Tayuya loosened her torn tie and began walking towards the main exit of the school, ignoring the bell overhead, though it's ringing was nearly deafening. Without even thinking about it, she pressed the material Sakura had given to her against the bleeding, glad it was there to prevent further staining of her uniform. "I gave up my position this afternoon - I know you wanted me to wait until later."

"What happened?"

Tayuya winced at the irritated note in his voice, wondering what sort of punishment she was about to be dished out. "Ino was absent today and onee--_Karin_ decided to take it upon herself to put Sakura into her place. Temari was unable to make it in time and I stepped in."

The man remained silent for a moment, eyes closed in thought as he tried to figure a way around the mess. "We needed a spy in Konohagakure, Tayuya. But I am pleasantly surprised to find you going out of your way to save someone."

The girl grumbled something under her breath, embarrassed. "You told me to keep the idiot safe!"

"Did I?"

"You did!"

"My, my, dear girl. No need to get so upset. It's quite alright if you like Sakura-chan."

"I--I," the girl, rendered speechless, flapped her hands and stumbled over what to say. "Don't be stupid! I DON'T!"

"Of course not," Orochimaru responded smoothly.

"Send a fucking car around for me!" Tayuya, too embarrassed to remember to be polite to her mentor, all but yelled into the phone. "And I don't like her! She's a fucking idiot!"

The black-haired man blinked as the conversation clicked to an end in his ear, leaving it ringing. He didn't miss the look of amusement on Kabuto's face. "Well," he said conversationally. "I do believe that's the first time she's ever yelled at me."

"It's about time." Kabuto pushed up his glasses with one finger, passing a stack of documents across to the older man. "Now. How about you actually do your job for once, mm?"

Orochimaru barely restrained a pout, looking at the hours worth of paperwork laid before him. Sometimes it really sucked to have a desk job.

* * *

So, originally what is soon to be chapter eight, was supposed to be chapter seven...but then chapter seven suddenly had 6,000 plus words and a staggering twelve pages to it...so I just ended up cutting it in half. Whoops. These fingers of mine, I swear.

So, I decided Ino had a theme song. It's a very good theme song.

"Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" - Tata Young

It's fairly fitting. So--from now on, when you read a scene with Ino in it, you are commanded to put this song on and make fun of her. COMMANDED. Other than that...I really have no idea what to say. So, leave a comment and tell me how the chapter went.

WHO'S EXCITED ABOUT A GUSHY SASUKE?

I'm shutting up. Sorry.


	8. Flowers

Blue Romance

AU There are four schools, each ruled by different students, Ino of Konohagakure, Gaara of Sunagakure, Sasuke of Otogakure and Itachi of Akatsuki. What happens when normal student, Haruno Sakura, gets thrown into the mix?

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Eight: Flowers

* * *

Sasuke drummed his fingers rapidly against the side of his desk, a thoughtful frown creasing his brows. Orochimaru hadn't ever mislead Sasuke before in the boy's entire life, so he knew he could trust the man's judgment, but still...If he was to get Sakura flowers, hypothetically thinking of course, what type of flowers would suit her? Where should he buy them? Should he buy them at all?--maybe girls liked wildflowers better?

Sasuke groaned softly, rubbing his fingers though his hair and biting his lip. This was far more frustrating than it should be! Okay, he just needed to think about this rationally - from another perspective. What kind of girl was Sakura? She didn't talk much, nor did she have an outgoing personality, so something tranquil and calm. Now...what kind of flower suited that?

There had to be an easier way to do this. He could just get a dozen roses - it wasn't very original, but it was simple and might help to take the headache out of this. Then again...what if she thought he was boring and unoriginal? Sasuke stood suddenly, grabbing his school jacket off the back of his chair and slinging it over his shoulder, his book bag and school work he tucked under his arm. The teacher watched him leaving, hovering in uncertainty, obviously wanting to question him on his abrupt departure, but too afraid to say anything.

He paused in front of the woman, frowning. For as long as he could remember, he'd followed in his father's example; trampling over people less than him without second thought. He should have been wary about the way he reacted to people like this woman now, should've thought more about why he had stopped lashing out at them. Subconsciously he already knew that Sakura was the cause, though he ignored this as easily as he ignored everything that had begun to change in him. "I'm going to the library," he told the woman, not surprised when she froze in shock.

"O-Oh, of course." He was positive she was waiting for him to snarl in annoyance and fire her, as he'd done so many times in the past. Instead he looked at her steadily, seeming distracted. "Would you like a pass, Uchiha-kun?" She asked carefully, gauging his reaction.

Sasuke blinked and then shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

She fumbled around with the papers on her desk, a small smile lighting her face as she found the small packet of hall passes, quickly signing one and handing it across the length of her desk to him. "Here you are."

"Thanks," he muttered, looking down at the pass with interest. He'd never actually used a pass before; the hall monitors being too afraid of him to ever call him out on the school violation. She gaped at him again, this time too shocked to be able to restrain the emotion from showing on her face.

"Y-You're welcome," she breathed, still looking wary of the moment he broke from the facade and lashed out at her.

"Mm," he mumbled noncommittally. "I'll be back for fifth period."

"S-Sure. Have fun?"

Sasuke smirked, looking amused. "Somehow I doubt that." Without another word he turned away, heading to the door and opening it, not bothering to catch it before it slammed shut. The classroom remained locked in a still silence, students and teacher too confused to move on from the bizarre scene they'd been presented with.

In the hall, Sasuke headed first to his locker, dropping off his bag and grabbing the library card he'd never used before, not sure if he'd need it to get onto the internet. The plastic card was freezing in his hand and he shoved the small object into his pocket. Now came the hard part, he sighed, walking into the library moments later and was thrown off by the silence of the large room. Otogakure had an impressive library, thanks in part to his father, who was always giving something to society to keep the Uchiha name sparkly clean. But he'd never been in the room other than the times he'd come with his class - and then it'd been filled with the noise of their ruckus. The oppressing silence was creepy.

He walked to the long line of top-dollar computers, lowering himself before one and wiggling the mouse around to bring back to main screen. He clicked open windows explorer, sending to web browser to Google and then pausing. Glancing around for a moment, Sasuke waited until he was sure he was alone to type in his first search: flowers. He scrolled through the lists of boutiques and flower delivery businesses. Dissatisfied with this result, he added 'picking' in front of flowers and was irritated to find this the title of a book.

"Picking the _right_ flowers." He decided upon, glad to find this at least brought up a few advice columns. He clicked open the first he found, scanning through the holiday flowers--he paused for a moment on valentines day, surprised that he remembered the date was only a week away. Sasuke, who'd never given anyone a valentine in his life, read through the section, wondering if he should hold off with the flowers and give them to Sakura then.

He decided against this. He'd give Sakura something more interesting for Valentines Day. He paused in the section that said which flowers to give for which month. February was violets and primrose, and when he Google imaged those, neither was quite right. He skipped down a month to March, the month in which Sakura's birthday resided. Violet once again and jonquil. He passed over violet dismissively, but frowned at the image of the jonquil, torn. Sasuke searched around of a piece of paper, grabbing one for the box left for researching students and took a pen as well. He scribbled down the name of the flower, wondering how he'd ever find two more to go along with it.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing in here?"

Sasuke jumped, instantly slapping a hand over the computer screen and scrambling to shut the windows down. "Nothing," he replied, his voice too high as he faced the new arrival to his flower search.

Kabuto eyed him curiously. "Flowers?"

"What's it to you four-eyes?" Sasuke muttered defensively.

The silver-haired boy almost smirked. Sasuke only skipped to personal insults when he was seriously flustered. "Nothing really. Jonquil, hmm?"

Sasuke slammed his elbow down over the notes he'd made, color rising fast into his cheeks. "Other then trying to embarrass me," Sasuke groused, "what do you want?"

"Nothing much. If you're thinking something-," he paused to look at Sasuke's notes on Sakura's personality. His smirk grew, "-something, _tranquil_, you should go with gladiolus. They're simple but very elegant. They'll suit jonquil far better than any violets. If you really wanted to get Sakura some flowers, I wish you'd have come to me."

Feeling stupid, Sasuke remembered at that moment that Kabuto's mother owned and ran her own successful flower company. "I wanted to do it on my own," he told the older boy, not missing Kabuto's amused smile.

"I'm sure, Sasuke-kun."

Searching for something to use for a subject change, Sasuke zeroed in on the roll of bandages in Kabuto's arms. "What's going on?"

Kabuto didn't need to look down to know what the boy was speaking about. He shook his head. "Karin attacked Sakura in school today and Tayuya protected her. She's got some nasty bruising and there's a little blood, but she got lucky. This time, at least."

"Is Sakura--"

"She's fine. Tayuya was the only one injured."

Sasuke wrote gladiolus down on his flower list hurriedly and then rose, shutting of the computer as he did. "Where is Tayuya?"

"The infirmary. I was just heading there."

"I'll go with you. I need to ask her some stuff. I thought Ino wasn't in school?"

Kabuto stepped back to allow Sasuke to pass him and then fell into step with the boy as they hurried from the library. "She wasn't; Karin took it upon herself to pass Sakura a warning in her absence. Though, from the way Tayuya speaks, I can't see Ino being pleased about it. She's been strangely protective of anyone other than herself touching Sakura."

Sasuke looked thoughtful, his eyes distant. "Do you think it's because of her mother?"

"Could be," Kabuto replied. "It's hard to know with Ino though. I must admit that there _is _some sort of similarity in Sakura to her."

"You'd know best." Sasuke stuffed his notes deep into his pants pocket and allowed a small, bitter smile to flitter over his face. "It seems we're not the only ones who see something more in Sakura. Things should start getting interesting."

Kabuto smiled as well, though it didn't reach his eyes. "That, Sasuke-kun, is quite the understatement."

--------

Sakura selected the books she'd need that night for homework from her locker and slid them into her bag, keeping it open in front of her as she packed them in. When she was done, she closed the locker softly, shifting the heavy bag over her right shoulder and closing the straps. A hand fell down on her shoulder and Sakura yelped, flinching away from it in shock.

Temari looked surprised by her reaction, but easily brushed it aside. "I just got a call from that idiot Sasuke - he said you might want to know how Tayuya was?"

"Oh, y-yes, of c-course!" Sakura recovered from the small scare, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder as she waited.

The blonde smiled mutely. "She'll be fine - some minor cuts and bruising. She's going to need a new uniform though, hers is trashed."

"I'm g-glad to h-hear that. I w-was worried."

Temari placed a hand on the top of Sakura's head, rubbing it soothingly. "You're a good girl Sakura. So - other than this morning's mishap, I trust you had a good day?"

Surprisingly, though she'd been tripped and pushed into walls a number of times, it _had_ been a good day. She nodded, smiling slightly. "Y-Yes. I had a good d-day."

The blonde's hand fell onto the other girl's shoulder as she steered them towards the exit, not missing that the throngs of girls parted slightly to allow them easy access through. "Celebrity treatment," Temari said cheerily, despite the fact the girls looked more ready to be an angry mob than adoring fans.

Sakura felt a sweat drop form over her head at Temari's antics, glad at least one of them was totally upbeat. While she was glad Tayuya was alright, it still worried her; what Karin had said after it was over. Somehow, she knew that nothing was **really** over. Karin was as dangerous a presence in her life as Ino, but not only dangerous to herself but Tayuya as well. She knew the girl would be embarrassed and probably irritated to know of Sakura's concern for her well being, but that never stopped Sakura from worrying.

And, as much as she didn't want to, Sakura contemplated calling Sasuke and asking him how Tayuya **really **was. If his number was still on the caller ID at her house, that was. She'd been surprised when he'd called the night before - granted she hadn't known it was him when she answered from her phone. After the caller had sighed long and hard, muttered something under his breath, he'd proceeded to hang up in her ear. Confused, she'd gone downstairs to investigate, gaping when _Uchiha, Fugaku_ had been printed across the caller ID box. His father's name meant that it was more than likely his house number and not his cell phone.

If it _was_ his house there was a chance Sasuke wouldn't answer, and she **really** didn't want to go through having his mom pick up. Though, from what she'd heard about his lifestyle, it'd be more likely that a servant would answer. Temari said he'd called her, so maybe she had his number...

"You must be thinking hard," Temari remarked as they waited for Kankuro, staring down at Sakura with amused eyes.

"Huh?"

"I've been talking for a while now and the whole time you've been chewing your nails and kicking your foot against the sidewalk." Both were habits Sakura had tried unsuccessfully to rid herself of. Temari grinned when the smaller girl's ears turned a faint pink. "What are you thinking about?"

"Someone who c-confuses me." The pink-haired girl replied honestly.

"Someone you like?"

"N-Not really," Sakura shook her head.

Temari had a good guess who that was. "He'll be crushed. Ah--there's Kankuro."

"C-Crushed?"

"You don't pay much attention, do you?" The blonde shook her head, "poor boy."

"A-Are we t-talking about the s-same person?"

The older girl laughed, thumping her lightly on the back. "I'm pretty sure we are." She stopped smiling at the sight of Naruto, sitting in the front seat. "YOU! Just what the hell were you going on about this morning, huh?"

"That you sniff panties and--"

Temari hit him hard upside the head, dragging him out of the front seat. "The only one who sniffs panties is the one who steals them out of drawers. We all know that was _you_ Naruto."

"Was not! I've told you a million times I didn't steal those panties!" Naruto huffed, placing his hands on his hips.

"We found them in **your **room, dumb ass!"

"Just because they were in my room didn't mean I stole them!" The two blondes faced off and Sakura could almost see the little sparks flying between them. When Temari rolled he eyes, Naruto continued on. "Really," he insisted, waving his hands around. "You never questioned Kiba or Shino! Or anyone!"

"Shino? Seriously Naruto I can see him stealing panties about as well as I can see him smiling."

"See!" Naruto seemed to have made a point that everyone missed. He sighed. "He makes you think that, but in reality he's a raging perv!"

"Oh please. That's outrageous."

Kankuro groaned loudly. "Must you always do this everyday? - come on, I need to be at work in an hour and you two aren't getting anywhere."

"Hold on Kankuro," Naruto insisted, fisting his hands on his hips defiantly. "I _did not_ steal your undies - why in the heck would I _want_ your big 'ol granny panties?" The boy waggled a finger, missing the look of absolute rage that darkened Temari's face. "See? You know I'm right."

"N-Naruto," Sakura whispered urgently, wondering momentarily if she should worry about Temari's blood pressure. "Please g-get into t-the car."

"Huh? Why?"

"Trust m-me, o-okay? J-Just don't s-say anything else."

The boy frowned at her like she'd suddenly announced she was going to the ball to meet prince Charming in a loin cloth. "Naruto," Kankuro said softly, seeing the warning signs of an oncoming rampage. "Get into the car. Now."

"Fine. FINE!" The boy huffed, opening the back door and bouncing down onto the leather seats with a sulking expression. Temari and Sakura followed suit, neither saying anything as Kankuro shifted the car into gear and fluidly pulled from the curb. They were nearly two blocks from the school when Temari's calm suddenly shattered, the girl reaching over the seat with a shrill scream to try and strangle Naruto.

"YOU MORON! STUPID PERVERT!"

Naruto flailed, flapping his arms in an attempt to dislodge the girl's hands from around his throat, accidentally whacking Sakura upside the head as she tried to disentangle the two. As soon as he'd hit her, Naruto twisted to the side, his garbled apology frantic as Sakura blinked through her pale hair at him.

"That's it!" Kankuro roared, slamming on the breaks and ignoring the cars that had to follow suit. "Sit down and shut up, right now! Are you trying to make me have a wreck?" When Temari and Naruto froze, he muttered something, turning around in his seat to look at Sakura. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm f-fine," she assured him, having been more startled than anything else. Now free of Temari's strangling hold, Naruto started back up with his groveling. "It's o-okay Naruto. R-Really."

Naruto glared at Temari, opening his mouth to undoubtedly blame her for the accident - Kankuro hurriedly snapped on the radio and turned the volume up to the point it was just barely threatening the blast out their ears. The boy closed his mouth and then grinned. "Paramore!" He crowed, looking pleased. "I _love_ this band!"

"Thank god for small miracles." Kankuro muttered, listening to Naruto sing along with the female lead.

Sakura watched Naruto in surprise, feeling as though she _shouldn't_ have been so surprised that Naruto could hit the high notes perfectly. She settled back into her seat, listening as Naruto proved not only that he could sing - but that he could sing well. Temari grumbled under her breath, though after a moment she too could be hear humming along to the lyrics, the angry look sliding off her face.

Kankuro really needed to write the band a thank you note some day.

-------

Sakura nearly started to shake with a sudden bout of terror as she allowed Temari to lead her into the lion's den, aka: Suna's hideout. Naruto's hand was warm and comforting in her own, and she tried not to squeeze off his fingers nervously. He squeezed back reassuringly, murmuring so softly that she almost couldn't hear, though the sound was still comforting and sweet in its intention. She tried to look around while they walked down the long, beautiful hallway, unable to connect the home as being Temari's. Somehow it didn't fit the family.

"Welcome to my home Sakura." Temari said as they paused before two large double doors leading into the massive family room. "A house constantly invaded by idiots," her tone was almost fond as she looked on at the room filled with boys, most of whom were cluttered around an xbox360, yelling and screaming at the game being played.

Naruto released her hand, giving her a fond wink before running over and leaping on the cluttered boys. "I'm back!" He sing-songed, laying on two of the toppled boys.

"Naruto get the hell off me!"

Naruto grinned down at the angry boy. "I missed you too Kiba."

"You're so weird. Don't get all touchy feely on me now," Kiba responded, shoving Naruto to the floor and returning his attention to the screen.

Temari followed Naruto, albeit much more calmly. Sakura couldn't get her stiff limbs to move, so she stood very still instead, hoping that somehow no one would notice her. "Shikamaru!" The blonde grinned, leaning down to give a tired-looking brunette a strangling hug. "I can't believe you actually woke up and came to meet Sakura!"

"Don't get used to it." He told her in reply, not taking his eyes off the book that was open before him, though his hand patted her arm in a faintly loving gesture. Sakura watched the interaction with interest - she'd already known that Shikamaru and Temari had been engaged, but she'd always thought that it was a family matter. She didn't expect them to actually like one another. And even more amazing than that, was the girlish way Temari suddenly presented herself in.

It was slightly unnerving to see her looking so soft and sweet. Even stranger was the look of absolute devotion that Shikamaru showered her with when he finally did look up. It made Sakura's chest warm and suddenly it didn't matter that they were still in high school and young--they would be together forever, of that she was absolutely certain.

"Sakura," Temari called, grinning up at her. "Come here and meet Shikamaru."

Sakura suddenly lost the warmth as conversation suddenly died, everyone seeming remember all at once that Sakura was visiting that day. She shifted nervously from foot to foot as all eyes studied her with interest. "What the hell, Naruto?" Kiba finally said. "You said she was the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen in your life. She looks pretty normal to me."

"Sakura is anything but normal." Naruto assured him. "You're all just blind."

"Keh." Kiba snorted, "whatever you say moron. HEY! Choji that is so cheating you shit! I wasn't paying attention!" He looked wide-eyed at his character, who'd been killed during his lapse in concentration.

"You never said pause."

"Bull shit! Rematch! Now."

"It's Lee's turn," Choji replied.

"Yeah but you _cheated_!" The brown-haired boy had begun to whine, rolling over to keep the controller away from Lee and Naruto's attempt to take it from him. "Rematch!"

Sakura felt her lips twitch, trying to form a smile through her nervousness. Her eyes swept over the large room, glad the eyes were off her. She paused, taking in one boy in the corner and realized with a startled clarity that he'd never looked up at her to begin with. He was leaning over a notepad, his pen moving swiftly over the paper.

Drawing.

Before she could understand what she was doing, Sakura was across the room, her eyes trained on the pale hand moving confidently over the paper. It had been so long since she'd drawn anything, since she'd allowed herself the freedom to create. She looked down at the boy's picture, taking in the dark charcoal smudges and then looking out the window he was sitting next to and seeing the large fountain he was drawing.

Her attention fell back to his work, barely noticing that he had stopped to look up at her. The lines of his artwork were fluid and faint, almost timid. "9B?" She asked him, referring to the type of charcoal pencil he was using. When he didn't answer she blushed and realized how rude she was being. "I-I'm s-sorry. I d-don't m-mean to p-pry. H-How rude of m-me."

She finally looked up at the boy, immediately tensing at his resemblance to Sasuke. A moment later she relaxed, seeing the large differences in their appearance. For one, this boy was much prettier than Sasuke; with delicate looking skin, a creamy white color that helped to set off his dark hair and eyes. His lips were girlishly full and he kept them pressed firmly together as he stared back at her.

Of all his beauty, his best feature was undoubtedly his long, curling lashes. They swept against his cheeks and cast a faint shadow when he turned his face back down to the note pad. Very timidly he nodded.

Sakura blinked and then realized that she had asked him a question previously. "S-So you d-do use 9B?" Again he nodded and she brightened, glad he didn't seem to be too upset with her. His attention returned to the art below him and she watched in silence, sinking into a chair at the table as he sketched out the scene just outside the window. He paused for a moment, setting the charcoal down in place of a pale gray blob. Kneaded eraser, Sakura's mind supplied instantly.

He carefully erased the mistake, his pinky finger flicking left over smudges away. "What are you drawing Sai?" Temari asked from behind them, looking at them with a curious expression. The pale boy lifted the drawing to show her and then settled it back in his lap. "Hey...you draw too, don't you Sakura?"

"Huh? O-Oh, yes. I d-do."

Sai looked up at her as if seeing her for the first time; he hurriedly grabbed a notebook from the bag sitting at his feet, scribbling something with the charcoal pencil. _What do you draw?_

Sakura blinked at the thick, impressive scrawl and then back at him. "Still life, m-mostly. Scenery." She licked her lips, thinking of the last disaster that came of trying to draw a person. "Sometimes...I l-like to draw p-people."

_Painting?_

"Yes, f-frequently."

_May I see some of it?_

Sakura breathed out in surprise. "My s-sketchbook..." She paled suddenly, surprising Temari and the boy. "I don't have it."

Silently Sai tore a sheet of paper from his thick sketch pad and handed it across the table to her. The charcoal pencil followed. _Please_, his face seemed to ask and she nodded.

"S-Sure..." Sai remained silent as she sought for something in the room to draw. Finally she bit her lip and began to draw. Quick glances up at Sai committed his face to her memory and the charcoal scratched across the page with practiced ease. She smeared the lines of his face with her thumb to soften them, taking extra time with keeping him as beautiful as he was in reality.

His eyes were hard--a mixture of an intensity she couldn't name, and a guarded air that hid the rest of him. Temari sat in the seat beside Sakura, watching with avid interest as Sai began to form on the piece of paper.

"You're very good." Temari told the girl when Sai was finished and she began on the things around and beside him. A window took life, light shining in and adding a glossy shine to Sai's hair. "How long have you been drawing, Sakura?"

"Since I was five." The girl replied, the stutter absent in her extreme concentration. She was nearly done, having taken only fifteen minutes to complete a drawing that would make even experienced artists jealous.

"Why don't you take art then?" Temari asked, remembering that she had not seen the class on the smaller girl's schedule. Her reply this time was a half-hearted shrug and Temari's eyes narrowed; she had a feeling she'd struck upon something personal. Sakura dropped the charcoal, flexing her fingers and smiling up at Sai.

"H-Here."

The boy took the drawing from her, his eyes distant as he looked over the beauty of her work. He nodded, setting it down for a moment to write something on the paper he'd been using to communicate with her.

_Thank you._

Sakura nodded, finding that she liked Sai. He was quiet and in the few minutes they'd spent together she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. It might be nice to have someone she was able to converse with about art, even if one half of the conversation was written.

"You're w-welcome," she told him kindly, wondering if she'd be able to talk to him more in the future. She had no doubt of receiving further invitations to Temari's house so it seemed pretty likely that they would meet again. The idea of coming back to this open room, full of laughter and shouting wasn't as terrifying as it had been at first. Indeed, Sakura found herself hoping she'd be allowed back time and time again to be around these wonderful people.

Temari nudged an elbow gently into Sakura's ribs, a grin lighting up her face. "Well Sakura, how about we go steal the Xbox from the boys and play?"

Sakura glanced at Sai and the boy met her eyes for a moment before turning back to his art, seeming as though he'd never stopped. "O-Okay," Sakura agreed, allowing for Temari to pull her to her feet and tug her over to the small television. She wasn't sure if she should mention she'd never played a video game in her life. Temari would probably make her play anyway just so she'd have the chance to learn.

Naruto grinned up at her when she arrived, patting the ground next to him and scooting next to her. He silently showed her the correct buttons to press to move her car, seeming to know without being told that she hadn't a clue what to do. On the screen, under his instruction, her sleek car ran over eight people on the side walk, uprooted two telephone poles and managed to earn her two of the stars he'd warned her meant that police were chasing her. She hit the gas trigger, speeding around a curve while Naruto and the other laughed.

She wasn't sure what the point of the game was--if there even was one--but it was fun either way, even though instead of loosing stars she continued to gain them as she clumsily sped around corners. Naruto seemed impressed by this. "Wow Sakura. It took me a long time to get four stars!"

"I-Is that a g-good thing?" She wondered, narrowly swerving around a police barricade, unable to shake the helicopter that was flying overhead.

"Not at all!" The blonde laughed.

Sakura smashed head first into another car, sending it sliding across the street. Her hood had begun to burn and Naruto told her to get out of the car and she scrambled to do so, running from the flaming vehicle as it blew up. She blinked as the police officers around her exited their cars, shooting at her as she ran down the street and away from the chaos.

"Good god, Sakura," Temari gasped, having come back in the room to find that twenty minutes had been enough time for Sakura to rack up five stars. "How have you not been caught yet?"

"The army is about to come in. I think." Naruto explained to Sakura, trying to remember what had happened the last time he'd gotten that high. Sakura gasped as a police officer tried to run her over.

"W-What a v-violent m-man," she stammered, watching her character get pummeled on all sides by at least thirty officers. Her health dropped dangerously as she stole one of the police cruisers, speeding away. "I'm g-going to d-die."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, watching as she turned towards an abandoned mountain road. "You should drive off the cliff. It's better than letting them get you."

Sakura followed his directions, having a hard time steering with the cars behind her ramming into her tail. Finally, able to see the gray ocean before her, she crashed through a gate and over the pavement, moments later sailing through the air, the rock station screaming in the car's stereo. She hit the water hard, watching the car sink slowly as her life drained away in a matter of seconds. She handed the controller back to Naruto, feeling strangely exhausted.

"You don't want to play again?"

"S-Sorry Naruto. Its a-about time I g-got home."

The boy looked over at the clock, surprised to see it was almost six. "Okay," he said sadly, brightening a moment later. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura!"

"Mm." She agreed, standing slowly. To her surprise her poor skills at GTA seemed to have impressed the other boys, who mumbled out goodbyes, already absorbed in watching Naruto have his turn at the game. She smiled, pleasantly warmed by the kindness of the gruff boys - however distracted it was.

"Come on Sakura. I'll give you a ride." Temari said.

Sakura nodded, heading back towards the entrance to the living room to retrieve her bag, to her surprise the tired-looking boy was holding it. Shikamaru's thin lips quirked up as he looked at her. "Let's go before I have to do anything else. As if coming here wasn't troublesome enough."

"Don't whine," the blonde scolded, taking the bag from him. "Sakura is family."

"I wasn't, I wasn't." He held up his hands in surrender, though he seemed, for the most part, to be teasing. Shikamaru winked at Sakura as he turned to follow after his fiancée, grinning as if at a private joke. Almost like he knew something about her even Sakura didn't know. The girl frowned and followed after him, wondering just what that was.

------

"You're late!"

Sakura winced, tapping her toe against the wood floor. "I'm s-sorry. I should h-have called."

"Please remember that for next time, Sakura." Her mother said, though her displeased expression was already fading into a smile. "Did you have fun?"

Sakura couldn't contain the excited note in her voice. "Y-Yes. Very m-much so. I played a v-video g-game!"

The woman smiled back, happy to see Sakura smiling in a way that she hadn't seen the girl smile in for a long time. "Oh!" the woman turned back to the kitchen, popping in for a second before coming back with a exquisite crystal vase - probably costing upwards of ten thousand dollars. Settled in an almost disorganized fashion were a handful of beautiful flowers. One kind was pale white on the outside, with a deep yellow center, the other a sort of towering flower, with the buds growing upwards. The last kind came in two different colors; the first a creamy white and the second a flaming red with a touch of yellow.

Their arrangement was careful and yet still disorganized and the sheer beauty of them took her breath away. "W-Who?" she whispered in awe, wondering if Konan had something to do with this.

Her mother studied her closely to gauge her reaction. "The Uchiha boy. The younger one. He left a note."

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura yelped, lunging at the note in her mother's hand, tearing open the envelope and hurriedly reading what lie within.

_Jonquil and gladiolus. Thank you for playing the piano. It helped me remember something I'd forgotten._

"What...?" Sakura made a face and flipped the letter over, disbelieving that he'd said something so strange and simple. If anything it left her more confused than she'd been before.

"What is it Sakura?"

"N-Nothing. When d-did Sasuke deliver t-this?"

"It's interesting you ask," she was told. "He just left about five minutes before you got here."

"What!"

The woman set the vase down on the small key table by the front door, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes. He walked it here. What's going on Sakura? I'd like to know--"

"He w-walked?" It was hard to imagine the immaculate Uchiha going anywhere without escort. "Wait..." Had he walked, and delivered it only a few moments ago...he couldn't be far from her house. "I've g-got to g-go. I'll b-be right back."

"U-Uh, Sakura! You're father is going to be home any second!"

"I-I'll explain to him." Sakura tugged on her coat, grabbing the vase, keeping it protected in the circle of her arms. She threw open her front door, pounding down the steps leading up to her house and hitting the street already running. She wasn't even sure which direction his was heading...

Sakura ran without paying much attention to where she was heading, her eyes searching out the distinctive shape of Sasuke's hair. She should have been surprised to see his black spikes heading across the street in front of her, but she wasn't really; she'd had a feeling she was going the right way.

"S-Sasuke!"

The boy paused in the middle of the street, turning to look back with wide eyes. "Sakura?"

The girl didn't stop running until she was standing opposite of the boy, panting harshly. Sasuke stared at her bent head, searching through the locks of hair for the vivid green eyes that had the strange power to freeze him in place. "Y-You sent t-this?"

Sasuke touched a pale flower, his lips twisting. "Yes."

Sakura lifted her head, unable to read the unfamiliar note in his voice. "Why?"

He nearly smiled at the demand. "I wanted to."

"I d-don't understand."

"Why are you out here? It's too cold to be outside." He looked at the thin coat she wore, radiating disapproval.

"T-To," she stopped, not sure how to tell him that she didn't want the flowers. That she couldn't accept them. She opened her mouth to spit it out, but stopped instantly at the sight of his hands. His normally well-kept nails were caked with dirt and chipped. Upon further inspection, he looked exhausted and worn out. "Did y-you pick t-these yourself?"

The Uchiha finally managed a small smile, though it was more embarrassed than anything else. "Yeah. My family has a greenhouse; my mom _used_ to like looking at flowers. She doesn't much anymore though--I figured you'd probably like these better than the fake ones from a store."

Something about his speech gave Sakura the impression that he'd put a lot of thought into the flowers. She hesitated, tightening her hold on them. Suddenly the idea of telling him to take them back made her sick. She turned her eyes to the smooth petals, guilt rising in her stomach. "Oh."

"You liked them, right? Are you allergic? I could get you something else if you'd rather."

Shaking her head so hard that her long braids whipped at her sides, Sakura made up her mind. "N-No. I...I like t-them. I want t-to thank y-you."

Sasuke grinned boyishly, looking very much like a small child. It was cute. "I'm glad then." He paused for a moment, shrugging out of his jacket and throwing it around her shoulders, it was warm and smelled faintly of his cologne. "Here. You're going to catch a cold; you should head home."

Sakura froze, her brain scrambling to make out what had just happened. Was there some sort of Uchiha complex that made them give out their coats to people who seemed cold? She looked at his short-sleeved shirt and bare arms, scowling. "You're the o-one who's g-going to c-catch a c-cold."

"Don't worry about it." He said carelessly, tipping his head back to study the pale gray clouds overhead. "I'm not cold."

"I w-wasn't worried." She denied without thinking about it, snapping her jaw closed a moment later when he smirked down at her. She wasn't sure what it was about Sasuke that got her so riled up all the time to the point she felt like a prize fighter arguing with her rival.

"Well, you may not be, but I am. Go home Sakura." He flicked her forehead, ignoring her small noise of irritation. She watched him walk away, glaring at his back. She tugged the coat tighter around her small body, trying to ignore the pleasant scent it carried. The coat...

"W-Wait! Your coat!"

"Its yours now." Sasuke kept walking, hopping lightly onto the sidewalk, hands shoved deeply into his pockets.

Sakura was snapped out watching him leave by a car honking at her, the driver shouting at her for standing in the street. She stammered out something non-understandable, scrambling back to the safety of the sidewalk and hurrying back to her house. Stupid Sasuke, she grumbled in her head in a very uncharacteristic anger. He was such a prideful, swollen-headed monkey.

She stomped into her house, kicking off her shoes and slamming the expensive vase on the key table. Ignoring her mother's welcome, she hurried up the stairs to her room, slamming the door once she was in. She flung the jacket across her bed and went to her easel, pulling a blank canvas from the pile lying next to it. She opened the bottle of water kept by on her window seal, pouring some of into a small bowl and grabbing her paints.

She chose colors randomly from her box, squirting small amounts of them on her pallet reaching for a clean brush. Her mother poked her head into the room nearly an hour later, tilting her head at the sight of Sakura's face. It'd been a long time since the girl had pulled back her hair to paint. As always, the sight of her lovely face made the woman's heart ache, knowing it was this face that made her adopted daughter's life so miserable. She tried to focus on the small smears of paint reaching up the girl's pale arms and coloring her face.

"Got wild, honey?" she teased, glad that at some point the girl had thought to wear her smock over her school uniform.

"Yes," Sakura answered seriously, her cute nose wrinkling. "I had to work something out."

"Well, I hope you got it all worked out then. Dinner's ready; don't forget to wash up before you come down."

"Okay." Sakura, still too drawn into her work, didn't hesitate or stumble over her words. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair and let it fall in her eyes to cloud her vision and protect her from the world. She stared at her picture, unsure why it was this that had come from her frustration. She turned away from it in anger, sighing.

She dropped her paintbrushes in the sink, letting the water run over them as she cleaned the paint off her face, careful not to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She cleaned off her arms and removed the clean brushes, tapping them against the sink to rid them of excess water. Her mother called her again from downstairs and she set them on a towel before heading down for dinner.

Her father was sitting at the head of the small table, the paper laid out in front of him as he waited for her mother to lay out the food. He didn't look up as she sat down next to him, flipping a page in the paper. "I heard that you went to the Sabaki family's house today."

Sakura started, her hands clenching down on the table. "Y-Yes. Temari-san invited me over."

He finally stopped reading the paper, his face tense. "Sakura, I've mentioned to you that I didn't like you hanging around with these people."

"N-No you d-didn't," she argued, surprising the man. "You s-simply said I c-couldn't be a-around Konan!"

"Sakura don't you dare argue with me." The man said, tone bordering on furious, his hand clenched the paper into a ball. "The choices you've begun to make--"

"Stop." Her mother said firmly, looking pale. "That's enough, both of you. Let's not argue over dinner - please."

Sakura watched her father with angry eyes as he breathed out and relented to his wife's plea. Her mother set plates of food down on the table, her face slowly regaining color, though she still looked unhappy and tense. Sakura tried to unclench the fist her hand had become, finding that she was shaking.

She wasn't going to stand down on this; Temari, Konan...Naruto and Kankuro - they all meant too much to her now. She wasn't about to let him tower over her this time.

* * *

Happy Holidays everyone! Since I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to whip out a chapter by Christmas, you're getting the greeting early. Some notes on this chapter...um, am I allowed to say that Sai is just about the most adorable thing since puppies? Seriously. Have you seen that boy smile? I squee'd.

On another note - OH MY FREAKING MARSHMELLOWS.I didn't know Sasuke had the ability to be thoughtful. Gasp.

And lastly, I just wanted to tell you all that I play GTA (grand theft auto for those of you who don't know video games) exactly the same way that Sakura does. My friend MoonVeil recently bought a few GTA games for her Xbox and while she's gotten really good at driving, it seems like I'm getting worse over time.

Oh, one more thing; once again, MoonVeil helped me with any and everything art related. I love watching her paint, since somehow, even when she's at her most careful, it ends up everywhere. Charcoal is horrifyingly hard to get out of clothing, btw.

Agent Kuma-chan, my darling, in response to your author's note: I'm pretty sure I got all of the review. Yes, Sasuke-chan can be quite endearing can't he? (when he's got his head pulled out of his ass, that is). Here's to hoping that your ebil, ebil keyboard burns in an eternal hell - this chapter is for you~

Is it just me or are these chapters getting ridiculously long?


	9. Engaged

Blue Romance

Disclaimer: Me own Naruto? Keep dreaming ;-;

Chapter Nine: Engaged

-------

"Sakura?" Poking her head in the girl's room, her step-mother frowned at the sight of the girl's well made bed and empty room. She pulled back, glancing up at her husband as he passed. "Have you seen Sakura, dear?"

The man kissed her cheek as she fixed the small imperfections in his tie. "She's in the recreation room—playing the piano I believe." He smiled at her and kissed her again. "I'll be home late today, just leave me a plate in the microwave."

The woman smiled and nodded to assure him she remembered. "Oh, darling. What are you going to say to Sakura? About that party she wants to go to?"

"Hikari," he said softly, though his tone was firm and carried a faint undertone of annoyance. "You _know_ how I feel about the Uzumaki family."

The woman fidgeted. "I know, I know – but Kushina is a nice woman and her husband is a good person. Beyond all that it's the first time Sakura's ever asked to do anything!"

He sighed. "I'll think it over. But I don't think I can agree to this."

Hikari pursed her lips. "Do your best then," she replied tartly, ignoring his look of fond amusement. "And drive carefully—don't forget to grab your coffee; it's on the island."

"I know, I know," he mimicked, unable to resist pressing another kiss to her grumpy lips. "I love you."

The woman closed her eyes and leaned against him, inhaling at the scent as familiar as her own. "I love you too," she sighed. "But I'm not going to let this go." She could feel then groan rumble in his chest and she giggled. When like this, it was easy to remember how they'd felt all those years ago, so young and ridiculous. As much pain and suffering had come from their love, she couldn't make herself regret it.

"M-Mom?" Sakura called from downstairs, followed by the sound of her shutting the piano cover.

"Coming dear," the woman responded, slapping her husbands fingers away as they tickled her sides. "Stop that you."

He grinned at the scolding severity of her words, though he could already feel the carefree look sliding off his face as they rounded the corner and Sakura came into view. It was hard looking at this child. The feelings of guilt and remorse she stirred in his chest were enough to make him sick. As much as he tried to reach out and love Sakura, it seemed the harder she fought and pulled away from him. It was worse to see her face when hair didn't shadow it; seeing the face of the woman he'd so callously betrayed.

It wasn't Sakura's fault she could be Iko's twin. It didn't make it any easier being around her, though.

He stood behind his wife, trying to pick apart the mask his daughter excelled in wearing. Sakura looked up at him, instantly withdrawing further into her self at the sight of his face. His chest clenched tightly at the action and he turned down to his beautiful wife, hating that the nervous air between them was effecting her.

"I'll see you later."

She nodded, her lips trying to form a careless smile. "Don't forget; coffee on the island. Have a good day."

He nodded and quickly escaped from the room, allowing Sakura the privacy to talk without hesitation in front of her adoptive mother. Hikari sighed and then brightened. "What did you need dear?"

The pink-haired girl tilted her head and gestured a thumb towards the piano. "I was w-wondering...there's t-this group a-at my school...If I joined, I c-could s-start playing in c-concerts by the end of t-the year." The girl shifted from foot to foot, nervously assessing the look of shock on her mother's face.

"I thought you hated clubs?"

"I d-don't," Sakura flushed. "I don't h-hate them p-per se, I just n-never really wanted...I just w-want to p-play a-again!"

Hikari waved her hands and tried to undo the mistake in her words. "I didn't mean anything by that, dear, I was just a little surprised. Of course you can take part in the club, there's nothing wrong with wanting to play."

"You don't t-think they'll m-mind my curse?"

Her mother frowned. "Don't you dare say that Sakura. You are not cursed. Your music may not be as," she paused, picking her words carefully. "Perky as others, but it doesn't make it any less beautiful. Your playing is very moving." She tucked the girl's bangs behind her ears to get a good look at the timid green eyes that shifted to avoid meeting hers.

"You t-think so?"

Hikari snorted, glad that after so many years she and the child she'd come to love as her own could finally meet halfway. "I know so, Sakura. Don't think so belittlingly of yourself; you have a real gift, you shouldn't doubt in that."

"T-Thanks, m-mom."

The girl's face flushed and her beauty was almost painful. Hikari sighed. "Well! Let's get some breakfast in you. Would you like a lunch today?"

"...Yes, p-please." Sakura forced her bangs back in front of her face, uncomfortable that it was still being seen. Hikari looped her long fingers around Sakura's, leading the girl into the kitchen, warmed pleasantly by the idea of seeing Sakura perform again. It had been a long time since she'd last seen the girl play for an audience – not since Iko's suicide had Sakura seemed interested in playing for the people around her. Hikari allowed herself to wonder if it was the new friends that Sakura was always hesitantly trying to tell her about that were changing her.

"So, darling," the woman said casually, pulling the box of eggs from within the fridge and setting them next to the milk on the counter. She took one from the box, cracking it with the skill of someone who'd been preparing food for her family for some time. The empty shell was set back into the box, in the space it had been sitting previously. Hikari repeated the process, carefully watching Sakura from the corner of her eye. "You haven't said anything about Konan-san lately. Is she unwell?"

Sakura paused in unpeeling her banana. "N-No...," she said slowly, almost unsure. "She's b-been busy."

Hikari frowned at this unsatisfying answer. She stirred a bit of milk into the eggs she was whisking. She paused for a moment to flip over the hash browns and bacon strips. "I see. But Temari-san is still around? You seemed to have had fun at her house yesterday."

Sakura fiddled with the hanging peels, looking shy. "Y-Yes," she agreed. "I d-did have fun. I l-like T-Temari-san very m-much."

Hikari grinned in victory. "Perhaps you should invite her over some day. I would like to meet them very much." She heard Sakura's squeak of surprise at her words and cut off the girl in a hurry before her daughter worked herself into a frenzy. "Calm down, honey. I think it's high time you experienced a sleepover."

Sakura tried to imagine Konan and Temari sleeping over at her house, sitting bored in her room at the lack of exciting things her house offered.

Hikari read the anxious vibes her daughter was sending out perfectly. "We could rent some movies and buy some junk food. You never really eat junk food, do you dear? I think it would be fun." The woman tried to ignore how upset Sakura's father would be if he could hear their conversation. "Your birthday is coming up soon, is it not? Perhaps we'll plan something around it."

Sakura shifted, not voicing how much the idea of being around her two newest friends excited her. She'd always wanted to try to do the silly juvenile things the girl's her age were doing. "I t-think I w-would like that. Oh, mom, t-there's one other p-person I would l-like to invite."

Hikari nearly dropped the plate she was handing to Sakura. The bacon slipped dangerously close to the edge of the plate before Hikari straightened it out. "Really?" She tried to keep the happy beam of a smile off her face at the idea of Sakura finally making friends. "Of course. If you want her, she's welcome in our home. Do I know her?"

"F-Fusegu Tayuya."

Hikari's pretty mouth fell open in shock.

"Is something w-wrong with T-Tayuya?" the girl wondered aloud.

"N-No. Of course not, Sakura. I was surprised, that's all." The woman sat across from her daughter at the table, her face thoughtful. "I've never heard of anyone from the Fusegu family making friends outside of the Yamanaka."

Sakura chewed thoughtfully on the bacon in her mouth, remembering Karin's furious words the previous day. She chased the food down with a large swallow of milk. "What d-do you m-mean?"

Her mother watched her for a moment, frowning. "I'm surprised your father hasn't talked to you about all this. Considering your standing at the school you should be aware of these things."

Sakura touched the blue tie she wore that labeled her as less than the girls around her. There wasn't a moment in her life she didn't feel its weight—as though it were a chain as apposed to cloth.

"The Fusegu family has served under the Yamanaka family for generations, probably more than three hundred years by now. There's a legend that says the head of the Fusegu family was an assassin sent to end the life of the leader of a large revolution – the head of Yamanaka. However, before he could leave, his beloved wife died from a plague going around at the time and he simply lost the will to live. Yamanaka spared him when he confessed to being hired to kill him; able to understand the pain of loss the man was going through, and gave him an offer – a new reason to live.

He was offered the position to protect Yamanaka for the rest of his life. He accepted and served Yamanaka until the day he died. After his death, his son and their children came to Yamanaka's son, the new leader, and made the same offer, this time expressing a desire to serve as their father had for the rest of their lives and their children's lives—until a time when the Fusegu family died out."

Hikari scratched her cheek. "Apparently a Fusegu has never broken the promise made to serve the Yamanaka heir."

Sakura shuddered, feeling the food turn to ash in her mouth. How could Tayuya give away all that just to keep Sakura safe? ...How could she give it away for Sasuke? Maybe she was in love with the boy, Sakura mused, wondering what position that would put her in. It was no wonder Karin had been angry over her sister's decision. Sakura couldn't imagine how her family would take it; the first person to break from the family tradition in three hundred years. It had to be pretty heavy a blow.

Hikari watched the small mannerisms that gave away Sakura's sudden bout of nervousness. She reached across the table and pulled the girl's hand away from her mouth so she'd stop chewing on her nails. "Is there something you need to tell me, Sakura?"

The girl opened her mouth and then shut it again. "Not r-right now."

Her mother sighed, but relented, knowing Sakura would talk about it when she was ready. She blinked as the doorbell rang, raising her eyebrows slowly. Then, suddenly, there was yelling on the front porch. Sakura stopped spreading ketchup onto her hash browns.

"T-That's Naruto."

Hikari stood. "I'll go answer the door then. You finish your breakfast—and don't eat faster just because he's here. Slow down." The woman walked the length of the hall to the front door, her pretty face pulling into a disapproving look as the sound of an angry argument could be heard. She opened the large door, surprise coloring her features.

Hyuuga Neji, looking impassive and cool, stood on her doorstep – beside him Naruto was demanding to know what he wanted and generally being loud. A silver-haired boy stood on the bottom step, yelling back at Naruto rudely. The Hyuuga boy, easy recognizable by his clear, beautiful eyes and frozen expression, turned to address Hikari when she opened the door.

"Haruno Hikari?"

Sakura's mother inclined her head, watching Naruto trail off to study her intently. "Yes. Is there something I can do for you boys?"

Naruto shoved at Neji's shoulder, ignoring the older boy's hiss of annoyance. "I'd like to see Sakura-chan!"

"Uzumaki if you touch me once more, I will not attempt to restrain myself anymore." Neji said softly, as though the woman wasn't standing there. She watched the exchange with surprise; the Hyuuga heir was well known for being as silent and expressionless as the previous leaders before him. His brows pulled together just slightly, making him look older than she knew he was. "I need to speak with your daughter," Neji said, turning back to Hikari as though he'd never threatened Naruto. "It's of some importance."

"Very well. Would you all like to come in a moment?"

Naruto grinned, not giving Neji a change to respond he skipped into the house, blinking at the absolutely spotless interior with interest. "Thanks, ma'am. You have a nice house." The blonde's face lit up further at the sight of Sakura standing at the sink, washing dishes. "Sakura-chan you look like a house wife!"

Hikari, standing behind him, smiled at the embarrassed noise Sakura made. Neji watched the exchange with bored interest. "Sakura, dear, Hyuuga-san wanted to speak to you for a moment."

"Alone." Neji added, glaring in irritation at Naruto. The blonde returned the look, sticking his tongue out for effect. Sakura froze in surprise, never having met Neji in her entire life; she didn't really have a good reason as to why he'd want to meet her. She set down the towel in her hand, placing the plate in the dish rack.

"O-Okay." She studied the good-looking boy curiously, not sure what he wanted. He studiously ignored her as she led the way into the living room, hearing her mother offer Naruto some breakfast and hearing his enthusiastic response. She turned nervously back to Neji, watching him suspiciously.

"Hyuuga Neji." The boy told her, realizing he still had as of yet to be formally introduced. Sasuke had insisted he be polite and he was going to have to, no matter how painful the thought was. "Sasuke sent me."

_Oh._ That made sense. Neji was Sasuke's fourth in command, ranking nearly as high as Sasuke himself, though he never made any attempt to take over for control of Otogakure. He seemed pretty neutral as far as power went, though she'd heard he could be pretty nasty when he wanted to.

When the girl didn't respond, Neji pushed a hand into the deep pockets of his uniform, coming back with a small cell phone. "Sasuke was worried about you not having one of these; he felt that you needed a way to contact people." The boy could barely keep the disgust at the idea from his voice. He placed the phone in her hand, watching as she stared at it blankly.

"W-What?"

"I'm not sure either." Neji told the girl, studying her. His keen eyes took in her limp, bed-tangled hair and ugly pajamas. He doubted that she even remember that she still was in them. "Someone like Sasuke taking interest in a blue tie student—you're not even...presentable," he decided, his lip almost curling.

Sakura glanced downward, her face heating as she realized just what she was wearing. How embarrassing. She clenched her hand around the small cell phone.

The boy abruptly changed the subject. "Sasuke and Tayuya's phone numbers have been programmed into the phone. Orochimaru-sama wanted his put in as well but Sasuke wasn't sure you'd like that." He handed her a small sheet of paper with a number written across it. "But in case you don't mind, here."

"T-Thanks," Sakura stammered, not sure what she should do with the small electronic. On one had, she was flattered by the thoughtfulness Sasuke had once again put into a gift for her, on the other she was annoyed with his forwardness at presenting her with a gift. And worst of all he hadn't even brought it himself.

"Sasuke couldn't come himself. He had a meeting to attend this morning." The boy told her, as though reading her expression. She wondered how everyone was doing that this morning; she must be doing something strange. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."

"Oh s-sure," Sakura replied, not even a little miffed by the rudeness of his entire conversation. She was far too used to it by now. "Thank you, again, f-for b-bringing this."

Neji nodded, turning around and walking back to the door he'd entered through. The girl followed him there, opening the door for him while he put his shoes back on and watching him walk towards his car. She blinked at the boy standing on her bottom step, instantly recognizing him from the disastrous visit to Otogakure. Suigetsu watched her steadily for a moment before grinning.

"What's up, mop-head?" Though his words were highly insulting, his tone was light and Sakura felt the teasing undertone.

"The s-sky." She told him without thinking, watching the shock cross over his face. He burst out laughing a half second later.

"I suppose you're right." He looked back when Neji snapped for him to hurry up. He raised two fingers to his temple in mock salute and turned on heel. She watched the boys leave and then swept the street in front of her house, confusion settling in when she couldn't find Kankuro's car anywhere. She slipped back inside her house, peering at Naruto, who was shoveling in eggs and bacon like tomorrow wasn't coming.

"N-Naruto." The boy looked up at her from his food. "W-Where is Temari-san and K-Kankuro?"

"Not here," he supplied helpfully. "I walked."

"From y-your house?"

"Yup!" He smiled at her cheerily as she sat down beside him. She finally noticed the dark lines around his eyes and the pale pallor of his skin. He seemed to understand instantly when she went from curious to worried. The boy patted her hands softly before taking a swig of his glass of orange juice. "Don't worry so much, Sakura-chan. Everything is fine. Gaara is coming home!"

"G-Gaara?"

"Yeah—he's the head of Sunagakure, Temari's younger brother." Naruto beamed suddenly, looking proud. "He also happens to be my best friend!"

Sakura couldn't help but smile back at the obvious pleasure he found in talking about his leader. "When is h-he getting b-back?"

"Nine." Naruto said around a sudden yawn. "Temari isn't coming into school and I _was_ going to go, but I thought you'd be lonely so I didn't. So...," he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Wanna ditch?"

"D-Ditch? As in s-skipping school?" Sakura, who'd never ditched a day of school in her entire life, wondered what one was supposed to do when ditching.

"Yeah," Naruto enthused. His boyishly good looking face was so eager and excited that she agreed without thinking about what would happen. "Don't worry either; Ino won't be in school today."

Sakura instantly seized on his words, remembering Temari's slight evasion on her question about why. "T-The same r-reason as yesterday?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, those stupid marriage meetings take days. I remember Kiba's. It was _so_ boring; I thought I was going to die. Ugh." He stuck out his tongue childishly.

Eyes round as saucers, Sakura stared at him. "M-M-Marriage? W-Who!"

Naruto looked around the empty kitchen with narrow eyes before leaning in and motioning for Sakura to follow suit. When she'd leaned forward he cupped his hands together and whispered softly. "Uchiha Itachi."

Feeling the blood drain out of her face in a matter of seconds, Sakura tired to make sense of her suddenly spinning world. Upstairs, sitting silently on the easel where she'd left it the night before, the chaotic painting of one Uchiha Itachi suddenly made a lot more sense than it had before. She understood why she'd been so compelled to draw the older teen, why she felt warm at the idea of getting to see him again.

Sakura dropped her head into her hands and groaned. She had a crush on Uchiha Itachi. Uchiha freaking, _Itachi_.

_I'm so screwed_, she told herself, wondering what Ino would look like standing beside the teen. The thought alone made her stomach roll.

"Yeah. I know," Naruto said, misinterpreting her reaction. "I feel bad for him, I mean, Ino was originally supposed to marry Sasuke-teme, it's why they were dating—but then he backed out and said that she was the last person he'd marry."

"Why?" the girl asked on a choked whisper.

"She was apparently dating four other guys at the same time as him. He said that she'd wind up leaving him with a kid that he wouldn't know if it was really his. Ino's dad was pissed; he was really looking forward to merging the companies and he refused to back out. Itachi stepped up and said he'd marry her instead so Sasuke wouldn't have to."

Sakura blinked. "B-But why? I t-thought he and S-Sasuke didn't l-like one another?"

He snorted, "whatever. It's pretty obvious that they're really close. Sasuke talks about Itachi all the time; it's really obnoxious."

"You t-talk with Sasuke?"

"Sure!" Naruto said, sounding surprised. "He's my other best friend...though sometimes he's more of a really, really annoying rival. Actually, most of the time. But, even for a teme, he's pretty cool. Orochimaru gives me candy!"

"H-He gives you c-candy?" The girl tried to keep pace with the sudden change of flow in the conversation. It was terribly easy to imagine Orochimaru handing candy out to the perky blonde, petting his hair and sporting that terrifying grin. She wondered momentarily if she should worry about Naruto and herself around the man.

"The butterscotch stuff. It's so good it'll make your mouth melt! No, wait—it'll melt in your mouth!" he corrected. Sakura giggled into her hand at the mistake, the slight fear of Naruto being slipped a date rape pill fading away. "So, let's go Sakura-chan! This new movie just came out and we can go see it at the mall."

Sakura let him take her hand in his, smiling at the warmth and comfort her offered. "O-Okay."

--------

Konan lounged against her fiancé, a sigh slipping past her painted lips. "Pein," she said softly, tiling her head against his shoulder to glance up at him.

"Hmm?"

"Is Itachi really going to go through with all of this?" She left out, _for that snotty brat of a brother_.

"Of course." Pein rubbed a hand through the girl's smooth blue hair, smiling down at her. "He loves Sasuke."

"Yeah," she sighed again. "I know. It doesn't make any of this easier. I miss Sakura too – do you think she's been missing me?"

The tall boy smiled, his tongue piercing making an audible clink as he tapped it against his teeth. "Stop fretting about it, love. You know she misses you. You'll get to see her tomorrow."

"Temari is going to steal her," the girl complained.

"Well." Pein said and then stopped, his smile turning wicked. "Yeah, I can see that," he teased.

She made a face. "Oh you're evil." Konan sat up as Deidara ran towards them, his tie loosened to the point that it was barely on at all. "Deidara?"

"Gaara's flight just landed; he wants to talk to Itachi right away about something." The blonde waved a hand in front of his flushed face, looking irritated as he relayed his message. "I am not running around this freaking house ever again, yeah."

"Itachi's still in the meeting. He can't take a call right now."

Deidara scowled at her. "I already _knew that_, yeah! I told him to call back later and he said that he was close enough he'd just come to talk to Itachi in person."

The girl felt her mouth open in shock. "Seriously? He must have found something while he was away."

"He is early," Pein agreed, rising. "I will go inform Itachi; he'll want out of the meeting anyway."

Konan watched him walk away, her face carefully composed so that the eagerness wasn't so easy to read. "Deidara we're going to go see Sakura."

"Excuse me? Why am I being included, yeah?"

"Because you're the only one around, stop complaining. Itachi will definitely be too wrapped up in what Gaara wants to hold the afternoon meeting—so you're coming with me to see Sakura."

"I still don't understand why I have to go along."

"I said so."

Deidara's eye narrowed in outrage and he opened his mouth, an indignant retort hot on his tongue. He swallowed it almost instantly at the sight of his father stepping through the double doors, Ino and Itachi at his side. The boy's lips twisted together as he stared at the man who he hated above all others. Konan stood quickly, instantly putting herself as a barrier between the two – Deidara was an idiot and he got under her skin, but she loved him and wasn't about to let his father trample over him as he was so prone to doing.

"Deidara." Inoichi Yamanaka was tall, cold and terrifying. His piercing blue eyes, the exact shade that his daughter's eyes had become, looked straight through Konan and into Deidara. "Humph. As un-presentable as ever. What a shame to our family."

Deidara tried to swallow the terror that swam through his nerves. "Then it's a good thing I'm not apart of _your_ family, yeah."

His father smiled thinly, easily seeing through the teen's frail attempt at bravery. He then dismissed the child from his mind as easily as one might forget where they placed something. "Ino, come." He impassively swept past Konan and Deidara, Ino scrambling to follow after him, her curiously bright eyes meeting her brothers. Deidara tried to pinpoint what emotion ruled in her eyes, remembering a time when it was easy to understand what his beautiful baby sister had been feeling.

Then, she'd been happy and always ready to offer him a smile. Now she was as cold and withdrawn as the very man who'd destroyed them. She turned away from him, the emotion flashing from her eyes as they went blank. Deidara felt the small chains around his heart tug a little tighter as guilt weighted his already heavy shoulders. It was never easy to face the reality that Ino was a lost cause. There would probably always be a part of him that wanted to hold onto the memory of a small girl who reached out for him with love and adoration.

As if reacting to his internal pain, his eye throbbed in sympathetic agony—he touched it faintly, allowing his finger tips to feather over the gauze bandages that protected those around him from the horrific sight of his scar. He jumped as a hand touched his cheek, tilting his head upward. Deidara stared up into dark eyes, trying to grin at his leader.

"Watch out Itachi-sama, that's quite the affectionate touch you've got going, yeah."

The taller male's eyes went flat though he didn't remove his hand. "You're an idiot."

"Probably," the blonde agreed.

"Your eye hurts." It was not a question and Deidara didn't merit it with an answer, knowing that Itachi knew without having to ask. The black-haired boy frowned, looking severe and older than his seventeen years. "Truly Deidara, you are a fool. Konan." His hand fell away slowly and he turned to the third member of their small party.

"Yes Itachi-sama?"

"You may go visit Sakura-san. I know that you've been wanting to." He glanced down at Deidara's irritated expression and almost smiled. "Deidara will accompany you; I feel that he may be in need of air. Now, if you'll excuse me, Pein and I are going to meet with the elders."

Despite his annoyance, Deidara still managed to bow respectfully to the older boy. "Of course," he heard Konan say in her flat voice, knowing right away that she was trying to hide how pleased she was.

Itachi handed her something that gave a sharp noise. "You may take the Mercedes."

Her mask slipped. Konan snatched the keys, looking like he'd just given her what she'd been waiting for all her life. And, in a sense, it was. Konan had been waiting a long time for permission to take Itachi's brand new Mercedes Benz SL600—it was a brand new model, not yet released to the public. Itachi had gotten it as a thank you present for his business with the company. Konan had been itching to drive the speed machine since the day she'd set eyes on its sleek form.

Itachi's firm mouth twitched once more. "Enjoy yourselves."

"We will." Konan said firmly, subtly rocking from foot to foot, looking ready to bolt to her car. Itachi was barely around the corner when she started running for the garage, making a giddy squealing noise as she did so. Deidara snorted in disgust, but resigned himself to having to run for the second time that day as he hastened to catch up to the girl.

-------

Sakura lay back on her bed, absolutely exhausted. Naruto was—to simply put it—a complete and utter ball of energy, running without pause. He'd dragged her all over the sprawling mall their town offered, buying her things she was looking at without asking her if she really wanted them. Most of the time, though, she had really wanted them. He never seemed fazed by the price of things either, which was a little annoying.

She knew that his family was very well off, but still, his callous spending had been a little dizzying. Though...She looked at the cell phone in her hand shaking her head at it. When Naruto had seen it, he'd seemed surprised and said: _"its weird; not even Sasuke splurges on his girlfriends this much. Not unless its something they really, really want."_

She had then been promptly told the cost to buy this particular cell phone model was around four hundred dollars and that it was a limited release and there had only been fifty made. The cost for minutes and keeping it maintained was equally as painful. She tried not to think about it too much, unsure how the idea of Sasuke buying her expensive things made her feel.

Her eyes fell on the painting of Itachi, staring at the eyes she'd created with a rainbow of dark colors and sighed at the similarities to the real thing. She'd have to get rid of it soon, before someone saw it and drew their own conclusions as to its meaning. But what to do with it?

The girl groaned, rubbing her face and wondered if willing the painting away might work.

No such luck.

She could always burn it. She considered that and wondered what time her dad was going to get home. Late. He'd had a meeting today with the Chinese head of TBC – a prominent trading company that wanted to extend their reach over seas. Sakura snatched the painting of the easel and stuffed it under her shirt, pausing for a moment as she realized that it was, essentially, like Itachi was looking under her shirt. "You're b-being ridiculous," she growled to herself and hurried down the stairs to her father's office, knowing that in his study the fireplace was much larger than the one in the living room and would burn the picture more easily.

She swallowed down her first feeling of guilt as she used the bricks along the fire place to help her snap the wood support beams along the back edges of the canvas. She felt a few splinters shove up into her fingers and she studiously ignored them, setting the broken canvas in the middle of the fireplace and dropping two large hunks of wood over it. After stuffing large balls of paper in the small open areas of the wood she lit them and watched as the fire caught.

The putrid scent of the oil pants burning burned her nose and she moved to open one of the large bay windows tracing the west wall of the office. "Sakura! What in the world are you doing?"

The girl turned from where she had been trying to force the heavy window open further, she followed her step-mother's eyes to the strangely colored fire. She didn't answer, but returned her full attention to letting the smell out of the large room.

"Is that the picture you drew? Why in the world are you burning it, darling?" Hikari stepped into the office, leaving the doors open wide and making a mental note to open all the windows in the house and give the room a good dousing with an air freshener.

"I d-didn't like it." The girl confessed, wishing she could come forward with the whole truth, but not wanting to see the woman's reaction. Not wanting the words out in the air—where they would no longer be a passing thought, but a _truth_. She sighed. "I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't realize it w-would be this bad."

"Its okay, honey. Just warn me next time. And no more fires; there are other ways to dispose of unwanted canvases."

Sakura nodded, wondering why the woman hadn't simply dismissed her as insane and left her to clean up her mess on her own. Then again...this wasn't the worst of the things Sakura had done over the years. Not even close. Sakura tensed as the doorbell rang for the second time, meeting her mother's eyes and knowing that they shared a look of confusion.

Hikari pursed her lips. "It must be Yamada-san, I'll be right back. While I talk to her, would you go grab that new air freshener bottle?"

"Sure m-mom," Sakura agreed, heading out of the room and down the hall towards the kitchen where her mother stored the cleaning supplies.

Hikari pulled open the front door, pausing when it wasn't Yamada standing on her doorstep after all. "We're here to see Sakura, yeah." The blonde announced his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his pants. He looked out of place and anxious to get away. Beside him was a tall, lovely girl with the kind of body magazines drooled over. Her hair was a shocking shade of blue, styled up in a bun, though some of it lay against the sides of her face, framing it softly. She wore very little makeup, most of it around her eyes, emphasizing their darkness.

The girl elbowed her companion roughly in the side, and he grunted in pain. "I apologize—Deidara was raised in a cave and therefore has no manners. My name is Konan, I go to school with Sakura-san."

Sakura's mother gaped as sudden realization swept over her. "Oh, come in! I've heard so much about you; it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Konan shook the hand that was outstretched towards her, instantly liking the beautiful housewife. "Thank you. The feeling is mutual, I assure you."

"Sakura!" Hikari called, leading the two teens into the living room and urging them to sit on the large, welcoming couch. "I'll go make some snacks. Would you like anything to drink?"

Deidara didn't sit, instead his eyes were drawn to the pictures lining the mantle. Konan frowned disapprovingly at his back as she lowered herself gracefully onto the couch. "Water is fine for me, thank you. Deidara enjoys things with plenty of sugar."

Hikari smiled. "I'll do my best to find him the sweetest thing we have on hand."

Deidara waited until the woman was gone before he began to study the framed pictures intently. "Weird."

"What?" the girl asked, flicking her fingernails together.

Deidara touched the face in the picture before him, looking at the small radiant pink-haired child with confusion. "This doesn't look anything like Sakura, yeah." Even for a child this girl was already showing signs of future beauty. Her eyes were large and a beautiful shade of green, her skin a pale alabaster that went exceedingly well with her strangely colored hair. She was holding onto the handle bars of her bike, grinning toothily at the person taking the picture, but most baffling of all, was the arm in the shot holding the bike steady.

The arm was slender and wearing a plain bracelet, next to the wheel the knees were almost visible and it made it fairly obvious that there had been another person in the shot previously. Why cut them out though?

He stepped away from the picture as the sound of feet slamming lightly against the wood floors grew closer to the door. Not a half second later Sakura burst through the arch way and stared at them in shock. The shock melted into relief and exuberant happiness.

"Nee-san!" the girl cried and Konan was already up, rushing to glomp onto the girl in the middle of the room. Deidara watched the exchange of mushy love with a grossed out expression, really regretting that he hadn't been able to stay inside the car.

Konan squeezed the younger girl, unable to believe just how happy she was to see the girl again. "Oh I missed you! How have you been?"

"I've b-been fine," Sakura assured her, shaking her head.

"Temari said that you visited her house?" Konan wrapped an arm around the girl and lead her back to the couch, sitting her down on it and watching her face intently. "Did you have fun?"

"Y-Yes! I played v-video games w-with Naruto. Everyone w-was very nice."

Konan breathed out in relief. "Good. I was worried they would pick on you. They're obnoxious boys."

"Most boys are." Hikari agreed, surprising them. She stood in the arch way, a large tray of tiny sandwiches and cakes in her hands. Deidara took the tray from her, the manners his mother had beaten into him as a child making him move before he had time to think. She glanced up at him in surprise as he set the tray down on the mahogany coffee table. "This one seems to be okay."

Konan snorted. "He's well trained."

"Watch it, yeah," the boy said testily. He handed Sakura a plate of sandwiches and cakes, trying to ignore her as she stammered a sincere thanks. Hikari disappeared to bring the drinks, leaving the teens to themselves once again. "And don't get too cozy—Itachi didn't say that we could stay all afternoon, we probably still have to attend the meeting."

"Shush," Konan told him. "I'm pretending that it's not going to happen."

"Idiot."

Sakura watched them sink into the familiar banter, finding that she'd missed it. Temari and Naruto had similar fights (thought theirs seemed to be a little more violent) but it wasn't quite the same. Her mother returned with a second tray, this time bearing drinks. Deidara rose quickly to accept this one as well, brushing off the woman's gratitude. He passed Sakura the water and left Konan to retrieve the other glass herself.

Konan watched him open his bottle of coke, annoyance at his pig-headedness showing plainly on her face. One of these days she was seriously going to put her foot up that boys butt. She scooted forward to grab the glass of cold tap water, taking an angry swig. It raced down her throat and chilled her stomach.

Sakura played around with her piece of cake, dipping a finger into the vanilla icing and stuffing it into her mouth. "N-Nee-san, may I a-ask you something?"

"Of course, Sakura."

"I just...," the girl shuffled the words around in her head to try and make them sound right. "Is Itachi r-really getting engaged t-to Ino?"

Konan set her water back onto the table. "Yes, Sakura. It hasn't been finalized – it won't be for a few more months or so, but it's going to happen. It was bound to eventually."

"W-What do you m-mean?"

"She means my father is far too ruthless not to want to get his hands on a merger with the Uchiha's. With a merger between them finalized he'll finally have made his way to the top." Deidara snapped, grinding his teeth.

"Chill," Konan replied instantly. She gave him a warning look that rang clear: don't take your frustration out on Sakura. "How did you find out about this anyway?"

"N-Naruto." She paused for a moment and then looked almost frantic with worry. "Oh, p-please don't get m-mad at him if he w-wasn't supposed to t-tell me!"

The blue-haired girl sighed. "He wasn't supposed to, but I'm used to his inability to keep that damn mouth of his shut. You would have found out soon anyway." Konan polished off the last few bits of cake, enjoying the wonderful taste on her tongue for a long moment before swallowing. "Your mother is an excellent cook. These cakes are amazing."

Sakura smiled. "Yes, s-she is an amazing c-cook. But she d-didn't make the c-cakes."

"You did?"

The girl's smile grew at Konan's look of awe. It was times like these that Sakura remembered that girls of Konan's standing didn't learn to cook and instead had food cooked for them all their lives. It was funny that Konan should seem so amazed that Sakura could cook; it was such a small thing compared to the things Konan had learned.

When Temari had explained that most girls who were expected to marry well and promote their family name higher had to learn things like calligraphy, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, embroidery—most were merely for show and tradition, seeing as they would forever have servants to arrange things.

"We need to go." Deidara said his eyes on the clock sitting next to the strange picture of Sakura.

"I know, I know," Konan grumbled, setting down her plate and sighing. She gave Sakura a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the girl's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay Sakura? Pein and I will be around to pick you up; I've already talked to Temari about it."

"O-Okay," the girl agreed, trying not to be too disappointed at the shortness of their visit. She tried to push the feeling aside, cheering herself up with the knowledge that Konan would be back at school the next day. She walked them to the door, catching a glimpse of her mother as she ducked into the living room to clean up the dirty dishes.

Konan paused on the top step, grinning down at the sleek silver car sitting in the street in front of Sakura's house. Sakura stared at it for a moment, instantly picking up on the main part of the car's design; speed and luxury. Somehow it fit Konan perfectly.

"O-Oh." Sakura clapped her hands as she thought of something, pulling the cell phone from her pocket. "I w-would like your phone n-number if you don't m-mind nee-san."

"Of course." Konan took the phone, hiding her surprise at the model. She had a good guess who it was from and as much as the idea of that brat giving her something, even Konan had to admit it was a smart gift. Sakura was danger prone and having a cell phone would be a good way to keep track of the girl. "I'll give you all the numbers." She told the smaller girl, entering in all the phone numbers she knew.

Deidara frowned in annoyance. "Does she really need the number to my apartment? Isn't my cell enough?"

"I'm giving her everyone's house and cell. Stop squealing about it."

"I wasn't squealing, yeah. If anyone is squealing it's you."

Konan brushed the insult off, punching Itachi's numerous numbers into the phone, making sure that all of them were his direct and private lines. She wasn't sure if Sakura even knew most of the Akatsuki members, but figured she would soon enough. It took almost ten minutes to load in all the numbers and Deidara had gotten bored of waiting—he was now sitting on the hood of the car, looking like a model posing for the cover of a car magazine.

Konan handed the phone back to its new owner, feeling strangely tired after the mental strain of remembering so many numbers. "Tomorrow," she said. "You need to gather all of Sunagakure's numbers as well."

"R-Right." Sakura accepted another hug from the girl, waving to an unresponsive Deidara as the blue-haired girl opened her car door. Konan revved the engine, waving briefly back before peeling out, the car practically purring as she sped away. Sakura watched them leave, her smile fading slowly.

"Come on Sakura," Hikari said softly from the doorway, rubbing her daughter's head. "You can help me with dinner."

"Y-Yeah." Sakura followed her mother into the house, letting the door close with a soft click behind her.

---------

Ugh. This is the fastest I've ever written a chapter. Sixteen pages in one day. I'm about to pass out and I think MoonVeil is going to kill me while she betas all of this mess. You'll all get to see the perfected version, of course, but she'll get the weird spelling mistakes and cry when she realizes that she's not going to get any sleep tonight.

I think I need to buy her a Starbucks soon.

I named Sakura's mom. Did you notice? Lol. I got tired of constantly calling her "Sakura's mom" or "woman" so Moon and I knocked our craniums together and worked out a name for her.

Poor Neji. His entrance to the story _totally_ got overshadowed by Inoichi's appearance.

Oh, one last thing—a Mercedes Benz SL600 is a real car. It's pretty sexy. If you're interested in how it looks, you'll find a link in my profile.


	10. Welcoming Party

Blue Romance

Disclaimer: Not I, said the cat.

**Story has been taken down.** Rain Megami cooperated with us and has taken down her story and posted an apology. I want to thank everyone who helped through this difficult time—MoonVeil and I are beyond grateful. I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter, everyone. Enjoy.

Chapter Ten: Welcoming Party

* * *

Sakura looked nervously through the piles of clothing lying out over any and all available flat surfaces. She pawed through the limited wardrobe—most of the clothes were from Christmas when Hikari had taken it upon herself to update the girl's clothing options as much as possible. It hadn't really helped much. Naruto hadn't told Sakura much about his party, though she'd asked numerous times during the days leading up to said party.

Even at school Temari had skirted around the subject, seeming amused that Sakura didn't know. School...Thursday and Friday had been a slow blur as far as school went. Ino had been absent the rest of the week and, with Konan back at her side—or maybe it was something to do with Tayuya's lingering absences from school as well—Karin had kept her distance. Though Sakura had left numerous messages on Tayuya's phone (having gotten the number from Temari) she still had yet to receive a reply, and the girl was quickly growing worried.

She knew that Tayuya was probably being taken care of and hadn't been seriously injured, but Sakura also knew that the worst scars were the ones carved into your soul by seemingly harmless words. The scars that sometimes never healed.

"Sakura?" her mother said softly, poking her head into the room and starting at the mess Sakura had made of her clothing. The woman smiled as Sakura looked up from the mountain of unsuitable shirts and pants. "Konan called; she'll be here in a moment to pick you up."

"O-Okay." Feeling a rush of excited panic stream through her veins, Sakura picked up the search for what to wear.

"Go dry your hair." Hikari said. "I'll put it up for you and pick something out. Hurry up, dear."

Giving her step-mother a grateful smile, feeling relieved to have someone help her pick through the piles of clothing for something to wear, Sakura ducked into the bathroom. Her wet hair hung around her shoulders in tangles and the girl reached for the brush lying out on her counter—where she'd dropped it when she'd realized she still hadn't chosen anything to wear. The girl combed her bangs forward into her face, wiggling her nose as a heavy water droplet fell onto it. Hikari entered the bathroom, winking at the girl and held up a pale blue shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans.

"Thank you, m-mother," the girl said, surrendering the brush over to the woman when she held out her hand for it. Hikari swiftly brushed the tangles out, making sure to be careful not to pull the girl's hair. When it was hanging flat down her back, dripping water onto her bathrobe, Hikari put the brush down and plugged in the blow dryer, getting to work on her hair once more.

Sakura held still as the woman made short work of her wet hair, surprised by the speed of her work. Hikari read the thoughtful purse to her daughter's lips perfectly. "When I was working as a secretary, I had to be ready in under an hour and if I wanted food it meant I had to be quick about making myself presentable. It took some time, but I think I've gotten pretty good at it." She laughed the sound gentle and pleasant.

Hikari turned off the blow dryer and set it down on the counter, smiling at her daughter in the mirror's reflection.

"Alright, darling – get dressed and I'll finish up."

"O-Okay," Sakura agreed, waiting until the bathroom door had closed behind her mother before she shucked off the bathrobe and hurried into the clothing her mother had laid out. The blue shirt fit snugly around her chest and shoulders and loosened into a wave around her waist. The jeans were one of her favorite pairs and were made to show off the slenderness of her legs—Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, focusing not on her hair-shrouded face, but her slim body instead. She lifted her arms and turned to the side, wondering why she wasn't satisfied with her appearance.

Sakura was no fool; she knew that, though she never worked for it, she had a nice body. Perhaps not much of a chest, something that had been pointed out to her numerous times in her past, but she was slender and had a decidedly delicate look to her. She was well aware that her face was nice to look at as well. Considering that her mother had been hailed as beautiful while alive, it would make sense that Sakura, her mirror image, should follow suit.

"Done?" Hikari asked, the sound muffled by the door.

"Y-Yes." The pink-haired girl responded, dropping her eyes back to the marble countertop. Her step-mother entered the room, beaming at her.

"Oh Sakura, you look lovely, darling." Hikari, holding a large twist clip in one hand, hugged Sakura with her free arm. It didn't fail to make her chest warm when Sakura didn't pull away from her embrace. She wasn't sure what had caused the change in Sakura—though she had a strong feeling it wasn't Sakura's new friends, but that Yamanaka girl—she was still grateful for it.

The girl was forced to smile at the obvious pleasure her mother felt in seeing her dress up, something Sakura hadn't done in years. She knew without having to say anything that her mother would leave her bangs in her face. It was a silent understanding forged through years of Sakura's silent suffering agony at the face she'd been given in life. Hikari brushed back pink hair, twisting it around smoothly and snapping the clip in. In less that two seconds she'd created an elegant twist that gave the appearance of having taken much longer to achieve.

"There we are." Hikari stepped back to admire her work, feeling a distant pang of sadness that Sakura was not comfortable enough to show her face still. They'd been waiting years for the healing that seemed to never come. Sakura was still as introverted and fearful as the day she'd arrived from the hospital almost seven years earlier. No...Perhaps not as shy—not even a year ago, Sakura would never have let Hikari come close enough to touch her hair. Would never have accepted any form of affection from her new mother. She was slowly blossoming like the flower of her namesake.

Downstairs, the doorbell chimed and filled the house with noise. "T-That's probably K-Konan-san." Sakura told her mother, suddenly giving off a nervous air.

The black-haired woman glanced at Sakura in the mirror and gave one of the girl's small shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "Relax, honey. I'll go let her in. You finish getting ready and don't worry about your room; I'll clean it up before your father gets home."

"T-Thanks mom." Sakura hurried back through the mess of her room and searched around in her top drawer for a pair of matching socks. A second later, two blue socks in her hand, Sakura hopped over to her bed and rushed to get them on her feet. From downstairs a trickle of soft conversation could be heard and Sakura couldn't help but wonder what the two women were talking about. She didn't have much longer to wonder; with both socks properly on her feet, Sakura hurried to join the two downstairs. She stopped in surprise at the last step, her eyes widening.

Konan was wearing a flowing evening gown, her hair smoothed back and pinned down with a diamond pin. Sensing Sakura's confusion as to her wardrobe, the blue-haired teen gave a small shrug. "Unfortunately I've got to head to a party one of Itachi's business partner's is throwing. I'm not going to be able to make Naruto's party."

The younger girl nodded stupidly, feeling as though she were getting a glimpse at a fairy tale princess—no matter how idiotic the idea was. Konan was stunning; the kind of beautiful women strived for their entire life and never touched. The girl, noticing the dazed gloss over Sakura's expression restrained a small chuckle, hooking her finger forward to beckon Sakura over.

"Going to put on your shoes?"

Sakura flushed hotly. "O-Oh y-yes. S-Sorry."

"Thank you Haruno-san, for you invitation," Konan said while Sakura bent down to slip on her shoes. She ignored Sakura's curious gaze on her person and focused on smiling pleasantly at Sakura's step-mother.

"Of course, Konan-san. I'll send you the list you asked for on Monday."

Thoroughly confused, Sakura began paying rapt attention, all but abandoning the straps of her leather boots. "I'll make sure to check my email—and tell Temari and Tayuya-san. I'm quite looking forward to it."

Hikari grinned back at the teen, liking very much to have someone to conspire with. Sakura was looking at them, a frown turning down at her well-formed lips, the only thing visible of her face. The mother kept an innocent look as she began talking again. "Well girls, you should probably head out so that you're not late."

"You're quite right." Konan agreed, her eyes drifting over to the clock above the mantle. "Ready Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl stood in response, still trying to make sense of the small tidbit of talk she'd been let in on. None of it made any sense whatsoever, not even with further review. Hikari kissed her cheek warmly and told her to have fun, waving at them from the doorway as they headed down the stairs to the sleek car waiting at the curb.

Sakura instantly recognized the car from the days previous, when Konan and Deidara had come to visit, its silver body easily remembered. "It's a Mercedes Benz," Konan told her as she opened the door for Sakura and ushered the girl inside. She walked briskly around to the drives side, lifting her skirt as she slid in, careful not to let the expensive gown touch the ground even for a moment.

Sakura, who knew absolutely nothing about cars, nodded. She felt dumb, not knowing anything about Mercedes Benz, other than the fact they made expensive cars. She studied the tasteful interior design and state-of-the-art GPS system with interest. Below the GPS system was a CD player that claimed to be able to hold up to three Cds at once, and, once Sakura had examined the car in detail, there was a fancy stereo system to go along with it.

"It's the SL600 series." Konan said, needing to fill the sudden silence. "The newer model of a car that's been around for years. It normally runs about 130,000 or so. It's definitely not the most expensive car in Itachi's garage—in fact its one of the least expensive. But the company installed a lot of extras for us in the engine and here." She tapped the GPS system. "A little thank you for Itachi's generous donation."

Sakura nodded to show she understood. Companies often gave donations to other businesses that could help to advertise them. "What is Itachi-senpai's m-most expensive c-car?"

Konan had to think about it, reaching over to shift the car into a higher gear. "Without a doubt it's his Bugatti—The Veyron 16.4 model. I believe he bought it for a million something. Its not very nice looking, in my opinion, but it's the second fastest car in the world."

Sakura felt dizzy at the thought of spending over a million dollars on a car. And the way Konan spoke about it, Sakura was pretty sure it wasn't the only insanely priced car Itachi owned. "If it's n-not nice looking why buy it? D-Does Itachi-senpai race?"

"Good lord no." Konan snorted at the idea, unable to image the straight-laced Itachi doing something so frivolous. "People own the Veyron simply because it gives them a sort of stature. People know you're rich when you buy these kinds of cars."

"So b-basically its all for show?"

"Basically," Konan agreed, flicking on the blinker and sliding into the next lane as it clicked back off.

Sakura pursed her lips, a sudden though making her frown. "If Itachi-senpai gave such a high d-donation, why did Mercedes give him such an inexpensive c-car?"

"Good question. Actually, they were being very rude to us. Deidara's dad—Inoichi—gave Mercedes a much higher donation and it was their way of telling us that we weren't their only supporters. Still...," she sighed wistfully. "I'm just hoping Itachi was taking me seriously when I gave him my birthday list. I'm praying for a SLR McLaren."

"SLR McLaren?"

"It's a Mercedes Benz too—one of their most expensive models. It's beautiful."

Sakura nodded, feeling as though her brain had been put through a pop quiz. Konan was obviously enamored with cars and knew a lot about them. The girl had a feeling that she was going to start knowing more about cars in the near future. Sakura started as she realized that they'd arrived at Naruto's house. Along the front entrance streamers and balloons were hanging, and a soft thrumming beat could be heard from down the drive; music being played too loud.

"I'm sorry I can't go in with you, Sakura." Real regret laced Konan's words as she stared into Sakura's anxious face. "I'm sure you'll have fun without me, though. Gaara's been waiting to meet you too."

"Gaara-san is h-here?" Sakura felt her initial nervousness double at the idea of meeting the Sunagakure leader. Konan flicked Sakura's nose lightly and then slapped her palm against her forehead.

"Oh goodness, I'm so stupid. I almost forgot!"

The pink-haired girl watched curiously as the girl twisted around in her seat and reached for something tucked under her seat. She came back with a small box. Sakura gaped as it was handed to her. "I-Is this a birthday p-party?" she burst out, wanting to go back home at the knowledge that she hadn't brought a gift.

"No you goose. Look at the name on the tag."

Sakura blinked and twisted the box around, locating the card when it flapped open. "Sakura," she read aloud, eyes widening. "Why is it for m-me?"

"You'll see when you get inside. And don't be nervous, Sakura. You'll have fun, I promise."

The girl shifted uneasily, having a different view of what was "fun" than the other girl. Fun was reading in a quite place, painting, playing the piano—watching the happy old couple next door go on their morning walk. Fun was _not_ walking into a room not knowing what to expect.

"Sakura," Konan flicked the girl's forehead, her tone disapproving. "We all love you. We're not planning anything mean."

"I know," Sakura replied instantly, not meaning for that idea to have gotten across. "I trust you."

Smiling at the stutter that was becoming less pronounced with each day they spent together, Konan winked at her. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"Nothing I guess. Thank you f-for the ride Nee-san."

"Have fun, Sakura."

"I'll do my best," the girl replied, totally serious. She pushed open her door, clutching the wrapped box tightly against her chest as exited the car. Konan murmured a word of luck as she shut the car door and began the trek up the driveway towards the house. The beat of the music grew stronger with each step and the rumble of Itachi's car softer. The girl took a deep, unsteady breath and pushed the small button of the doorbell hard. The faint chime was entirely lost in the music and for a moment the girl was worried no one would hear.

Just when she was about to make a mad dash back to Konan, the door swung open and Kushina's lovely face appeared. "Oh, Sakura-san! We were beginning to wonder where you were, dear!" She waved over at Konan and the teen finally drove away, waving back at Sakura as she turned the corner. "Come in, come in. You'll have to excuse the volume of the music; Naruto is having problems with the speaker system."

The girl wanted to ask what Kushina meant by _'problems'_ but was terrified just standing next to the woman. Her throat was far too tight to permit speech.

"Temari-chan, Sakura is here." Kushina placed a warm hand on Sakura's back and lightly urged her forward. Sakura, feeling grateful for the familiarity of Temari's face, hurried to the girl's side.

The blonde grinned down at her, looking excited. "I'm glad you're finally here. We've been waiting."

"I'm s-sorry," Sakura murmured, feeling guilty at taking forever.

"It's fine. No worries. Now, come on, Gaara's been looking forward to meeting you. It's all Naruto's been talking about since he got home, so naturally he's curious."

Sakura felt her cheeks warm. Naruto would be Naruto, she supposed. She could beg him forever and he would still tell everyone about her. It led to embarrassing introductions. The girl paused as she spotted Sai, sitting in a corner and looking bored. He noticed her at the same moment and a small smile tilted at his lips, making him look much younger. He raised his hand and gave a hint of a wave. The girl waved back, though hers was slightly more enthused. Temari watched the exchange with an unreadable expression; still, Sakura could trace an undertone of a smirk in her smile a moment later.

"You and Sai seemed to get along," Temari said, her voice bland and a little high. Her face was worryingly blank and innocent.

"I s-suppose," Sakura agreed warily. The hairs on the back of her neck were raised—sensing something dark processing in Temari's mind. Whatever the girl was thinking about, Sakura didn't want in on it. The blonde didn't say anything further on the subject, heading closer to the deafening roar of music. She opened a large door and the outpour of sound nearly knocked both girls to the floor.

"_God damn it, Naruto!_" Temari screeched, hands slapping over her ears instantly.

The boy turned back of a moment, his face pale and harassed. "_It isn't my fault!_" The boy screamed back, still managing to sound like he was whining. "_I don't know what to do!_"

Temari shoved past Kiba, who was looking as though he might faint from the sheer volume of the noise. The girl knelt down and pushed open the interior of the stereo and looked around. Sakura kept one eye on Kiba as the boy began to sway, wondering if it would be too forward to suggest he leave the room. He could take it the wrong way and it would be humiliating to have to try and explain why she was butting into his business.

The brown-haired boy turned around and studied her uneasy expression. "Hey," he said softly, and she could only guess what he was saying by the movement of his lips; his voice was fully drowned out. "I'm going to lean on you."

Without giving her chance to reply the boy sagged against her shoulder and she could feel the heat of his face. It made her wonder how long they'd been subjected to the horrifying volume of the stereo. Awkwardly, Sakura patted the boys back and prayed that Temari would fix the stereo soon. She too was beginning to feel the onslaught of queasiness. Temari shouted something lost in the music and pushed her fist into the stomach of the machine. The noise died instantly, leaving Sakura's ears ringing sharply.

Temari rocked back on her heels, holding a handful of wires. She looked at Naruto and shook the wires around. "You got a problem with this outcome?"

"I'm just glad it's over," the boy moaned, his normally bright face a little green.

"If you're going to barf, go to the bathroom. And Kiba – get the hell off Sakura. Now."

"It's o-okay, T-Temari-san." Sakura hurried to assure the girl, patting Kiba's back in a very motherly gesture—something her own mother had done when she was a child—once again. "I d-don't mind."

"Hmm. Just tell me if he gets grabby."

Kiba groaned. "I'm not a pervert, stupid. Besides, I've got Hinata. I don't need anyone else."

"Young love." Temari sighed wistfully. "I suppose its fine as long as you pretend Sakura is your sister."

He snorted. "I might be doing a better job of pretending if you'd shut the hell up. My head really hurts."

"I can imagine," the girl said dryly. "I'm surprised you're not both deaf. You are, however, both idiots." She dropped the wires and dusted off her hands, seeming proud of her work. "Now drop that idiot, Sakura, and come with me. Gaara isn't here, but he's got to be somewhere. We'll find him eventually."

Kiba lifted his head off the girl's shoulder and looked over at the door Naruto had left open in his haste to get to the bathroom. He sighed. "Thanks for the shoulder. Hinata was right; you are nice."

Sakura, surprised and flattered, smiled back at the boy. He didn't really seem to suit Hinata—but he was obviously enamored with the girl and, from what she'd seen, Hinata seemed to like him just as much. Kiba staggered out of the room towards the bathroom Naruto had fled to.

"I wonder where that boy got off to." Temari wondered aloud. She looped her arm through Sakura's and tugged her back into the main party. Kushina flashed them a grateful look for ending the stereos reign of terror as they passed, returning her attention to the cooking show she'd been watching a moment later.

"Temari!" Kankuro called, waving at them from a couch in the living room. The couch was L shaped and easily fit the eight boys sprawled on it – all of whom were staring at the television with zombie-like adoration. A plump boy, seated in the midst of the others, was frowning deeply, his eyes following his character across the screen as he battled a large group of ninja. The first person besides Kankuro Sakura recognized was Haku, who turned his attention away from the TV and smiled kindly at her. Remembering that she'd originally mistaken him for a female embarrassed Sakura so much that she had to divert her eyes to keep her face from exploding in color.

Temari snickered softly as Haku blinked in confusion, staring at Sakura's flushed face. "So this is where you've been hiding, Gaara," Temari said loudly to distract herself from telling Haku that Sakura wasn't trying to be rude. Sakura looked back at the couch, her head getting a crick from the sheer speed of said movement.

A slim red-haired boy was staring up at them—his smile not quite reaching his lips, but in his eyes nonetheless. He was very good looking. Tired, but good looking. The dark shadows around his eyes, Sakura found after studying them, were not makeup as she'd first thought but instead a testament to the number of nights he'd gone without sleep on his last trip away from home. Green eyes, a few shades lighter than Sakura's, shifted to meet hers and they searched her for a long moment.

"Haruno, Sakura," he said slowly, pronouncing her name carefully on his tongue. His voice was soft and calm, almost soothing. "I'm glad to finally be able to meet you." He rose, unfolding his tall form with smooth grace as he extended a hand forward for her to shake. The girl took it, trying to keep her hands from shaking nervously. For someone only a year older, he was strikingly mature. Unlike Sasuke, Gaara didn't rule Sunagakure because he was the strongest of his companions, nor was he the wealthiest. Gaara ruled because he'd been born with something that all great leaders needed.

The boy's hand was cool and reassuring as it wrapped around hers and Sakura felt heat rising into her cheeks again. To her surprise, she found that she liked Gaara almost instantly, as Naruto had been predicting for the last three days she would. He chuckled faintly and released her hand, looking over her shoulder at Naruto as he staggered toward them, his face flushed.

"Gaara that stupid stereo is cursed! Temari bought that one on purpose." The blonde exclaimed, suddenly gaining life again as he jumped into Gaara's arms—the red-haired teen seemed prepared for this; catching Naruto as though it were planned out ahead of time.

Temari scowled. "I did no such thing you moron."

Gaara ignored Temari's retorted huff and raised his eyebrows. "I doubt Temari would do something like that, Naruto. After all she had to suffer through the noise as well, did she not?"

The blonde pursed his lips, not looking fully convinced. "If you say so Gaara. Still..." He stuck his tongue out at Temari and fully ignored her threat to rip the small appendage out should he continue to point it at her. He turned to the pink-haired girl who had been watching the exchanges in silence, finally greeting her. "Sakura-chan! You finally got here! I've been waiting to show you your present!"

"P-Present?" she asked, unsure why she was being given gifts.

Naruto blinked. "Oh yeah, that's right. I still haven't told you have I; what the theme of this party is?" When Sakura shook her head he began to grin cat-like. "In that case, welcome to your welcoming party, Sakura-chan!"

Staring blankly at him for a moment, Sakura let the words process. Finally, after a moment of silent deliberation she burst out: "E-Excuse m-me?"

"That wasn't a very good reaction," Naruto told her, obviously fighting disappointment. The pink-haired girl shifted around anxiously, wanting to fix the mistake she'd made.

"I–I'm sorry its just t-that I've n-never been t-thrown a p-party before."

For a moment Naruto gaped at her in silence, too surprised to think of something amusing to pass the sudden chill in conversation. Temari, unbelieving of what had just come from the girl's mouth, placed a hand on the smaller shoulder and forced Sakura to look at her. "Sakura—are," she stopped, staring into the hidden face below, knowing that Sakura would never lie about something so stupid. "Why haven't you ever been thrown a party?"

The girl tilted her head while she figured the best way to explain that, until now, she'd never had anyone to _invite_ to a party. "My d-dad hates them. And...I g-guess I just n-never had anything t-to celebrate."

"How could you never have anything to celebrate?" Naruto demanded. His hands were fisted on his hips, a look of disapproval coloring his expression. "I've decided; from now on, I'm going to give Sakura-chan as many reasons to celebrate as I can!"

It was a ridiculous statement—one that made Temari snort—but Sakura, who'd never had a friend care enough to want to give her happy memories, felt the hot pricks of tears starting in the corner of her eyes. Mortified, Sakura quickly rubbed a hard over her eyes and told herself firmly that she wasn't going to cry. She hadn't cried for seven years and now, suddenly, she was a walking sprinkler. Naruto instantly stopped talking, his eyes rounding in horror.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head furiously, flushing with embarrassment. "Perhaps Sakura-san is merely pleased, Naruto?" Gaara said smoothly, coming to her rescue and diverting the boy's attention.

"Happy? You're happy Sakura-chan? Really?"

The girl nodded, unable to speak for fear she'd lose her voice halfway through. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

"Oh man, Sakura-chan. Don't make me worry like that!" The blonde wiggled away from Gaara and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. He grinned cheerily at her, his hands tightening slightly in a comforting gesture. "We're friends now Sakura-chan, so I want you to be happy around me, okay?"

"O-O-Ok–Okay," Sakura managed out through her tight throat, smiling slightly when Naruto released her. She smiled shyly at Gaara to thank him for his previous help and was heartened by his friendly wink as he carefully pulled Naruto back towards the large group of boys shouting and laughing as Kiba attempted to beat Lee at Guitar Hero. The boys seemed to have given on the ninja game from before. The two girls watched them leave, Temari finally turning to look at Sakura, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Well, that went well. I'm glad."

Sakura, a little confused, nodded stupidly in response.

The blonde glanced around the room and then down at the small present Sakura was clutching onto, seeming to notice it for the first. "Ah. That must be Konan's present?" When Sakura nodded Temari pointed to a table in the corner loaded with similarly wrapped boxes. "Take it over there. You can open them later."

Sakura gaped at the mass amounts of presents, disbelief making her slow. "A-A-Are you k-kidding? T-Temari t-there's t-too many!"

"Really? That's nothing," the girl told her flippantly, walking her over to the gifts. "Wait until your birthday. _Then_ you'll understand."

"M-My birthday?"

"Yeah." Temari took the gift out of Sakura's hands and placed it on top of another. Sakura took the chance to do a rough count, able to work out there being at least fifteen items before Temari lead her back towards the shouting boys. "March 28, correct? I thought so. Konan is already planning for it—so be prepared for something grand."

"But its o-only F-February," Sakura protested.

"These things take time to plan, darling," the blonde told her playfully, patting the top of her messy head. "That reminds me, Naruto wanted to know if you liked chocolate."

"C-Chocolate? Why?"

"Valentine's day. It's coming up in a few days. Shikamaru's going to take me to dinner and a movie." She smiled dreamily, missing Sakura's frown.

"N-No."

"No?" Temari turned in surprise.

"H-He can't b-buy me a V-Valentine's gift on t-top of all this. It's t-too much."

Understanding shone in the older girl's eyes and she shook her head, trying to remind herself that Sakura's family wasn't as wealthy as the rest of them. She was probably unused to such a large turn out of gifts. "Don't worry so much, Sakura. We like spoiling you. Besides, you'd hurt our feelings if you rejected our gifts imouto."

Her pet name distracted the girl for a moment. She clamped down on her urge to giggle happily, knowing that Temari liked her enough to grant her the title of little sister. Grasping onto her stupid smile she stopped it just in time and tried to focus on the subject at hand. "Still..."

"Hush. Now, let's go make the boys let us play too. Ever played Guitar Hero?"

"No," Sakura said instantly. Remembering the disaster of her Grand Theft Auto experience, Sakura barely restrained herself from telling Temari she didn't want to try playing either. The blonde seemed to understand anyway.

"You don't have to play. You can watch—its still fun. Or...," her tone was suddenly sly. "Sai is probably bored on his own. I'm sure he'd love for you to go talk to him."

Sakura, feeling as though something over hear head was being put into motion, nodded slowly. She _had_ wanted to talk to Sai and this way there was no chance for Naruto to wheedle her into playing and humiliating herself. "Okay," she agreed readily, eyeing Temari will suspicion and her pleased smirk.

"See you later then. We should be having lunch and opening presents in about ten minutes, I think." The slim girl danced off, pouncing on her fiancé from behind and kissing his cheek before she easily leapt over the back of the couch and landed smoothly in the spot beside him. Shikamaru barely noticed, though his arm instantly rose and settled around her shoulders. It was absent-mindedly done, but gave proof to how close the pair were.

Sakura felt something tighten in her chest and. It almost felt like jealousy, which was stupid and a waste of time. She'd accepted long ago that she'd never be able find love like this—so warm and perfect. She had _accepted_ that. The girl sighed and turned to find where Sai had hidden himself, forcing the ridiculous thoughts out of her mind.

Sai glanced up in surprise when she finally found him, scooting over instantly to make room for her on the window seat. Sakura thanked him quietly, not expecting an answer and not receiving one. She'd asked Temari about why Sai never spoke and the girl had been reluctant to answer, confessing that she hoped one day it would be Sai himself to tell Sakura, however unlikely. What she had told Sakura, was enough to give Sakura food for thought.

When the boy was ten his family had been in a terrible car accident that had left him orphaned—from Temari's brief and haunted account, the image of the accident had been a horrifying one. Sai had gotten away from the accident with nothing more than a broken arm, while his mother and father had been killed instantly. His brother, however, had not been so lucky. Sai had been the one to sit with the boy for an hour as they waited for an ambulance, watching the boy die slowly the entire time. His brother had been impaled by a piece of metal trying to protect his brother and removing it had proved too difficult a task; he'd died within minutes of entering the emergency room.

Sai hadn't spoken a word since, taking up art and pouring himself into his work. Sai had inherited his family's business, but until a time when we was old enough to begin actually running the company, his grandfather was carrying on in his father's place. Danzo—Sai's grandfather—was known to be a cold and heartless man, who felt no sympathy towards his young grandson's disposition. He'd made it clear to Sai that, should the boy continue refusing to speak come his eighteenth birthday, he would forfeit his right to the company and be cut from his will.

Sakura longed to talk to Sai about it, wanting to understand the way he perceived the world. Often she wondered if the way she felt about the people around her was strange—many of the therapists she'd been to over the years had been reluctant to come out and tell her just how badly her sense of realty had been warped by her childhood. And then there was Ino, who, like Sakura, had also lost her mother as a child in a strange circumstance. According to Konan, who'd been the first to let Sakura in on what she knew about the Yamanaka family, Ino and Deidara's mother had died suddenly and their father had never been clear with the press what had actually happened. Deidara and Ino refused to speak about it, their lips as tightly sealed as their father.

She leaned back against the cool glass window and watched Sai's pen move fluidly over the page, an image of the room before them slowly developing with each sweeping brush. "Sai-san," she said after nearly a minute of relaxed silence. "May I a-ask you something?"

The black-haired boy glanced up at her, searching her face with dark eyes. He nodded slowly.

"What do you feel when you draw?"

While he considered her question, Sakura marveled at the steady, even way her words came out when around Sai. Sai was easy to be around and she never struggled with her words; too comfortable to feel nervous. Konan was similar, but not even with the older girl could Sakura speak so normally. It might have been that even if she stumbled clumsily over her words Sai didn't seem to mind.

He began to scratch out an answer at the bottom of his note pad, uncaring that he was potentially messing up the bottom of his drawing. Once finished he handed it over to her and waited while she read it.

_I feel nothing._

Surprised, Sakura handed it back to him numbly, her brow crinkling as she tried to understand the underlining meaning in his words. "Oh," she said quietly and nodded. When she painted, often all she could think of was what lie before her—not the memories of her past, nor worry for the day ahead. Only her art. It made sense that he escaped in the same way.

_What do you feel, Sakura?_

He handed the pad back to her and she could feel his eyes boring holes into the top of her head as she figured a way to explain his answer back. "I feel calm—at peace, I think."

He smiled and she knew that he'd noticed the similarities in their answers. He resumed drawing and they fell back into comfortable silence, neither pressed to break it. Sakura, always one who enjoyed studying the actions of those around her, was perfectly content to watch him work, knowing that he didn't mind her staring.

Ten minutes slipped by wonderfully slow and Sakura felt a vague sense of disappointment when Temari came to collect them for lunch. She started when Sai carefully took her elbow in one hand and helped her to her feet, a faint flush spreading over her cheeks. He released her a moment later, leaving her skin burning where he'd touched her. It was an unusual feeling and she rubbed the skin thoughtfully, missing the wicked look in Temari's eyes. Sai, staring down at her with an unreadable expression, also missed it.

"Come on you two," the blonde called cheerily, "the foods getting cold!"

"S-Sorry," Sakura said, her stutter back that she was no longer alone, though Sai's comforting presence soon abated her embarrassment and allowed her to look up at Temari. The tall boy followed closely at her side as she walked after Temari to the living room, the smell of pizza assaulting her nose as she stepped through the vast archway.

Kushina, in the midst of wiggling boys and trying to serve them pizza as they flailed, called out to them. "Temari, be a darling and help me? Sakura-san, there's a box of cheese in the kitchen, would you and Sai go get it?"

Sai nodded before Sakura had a chance to mumble something, his hand pressing against her elbow lightly. She nodded at the silent question and turned back towards the entrance. Kushina's pretty mouth fell open a little, her sharp eyes catching the gesture and sparkling. The woman handed Naruto a plate and instructed him to pass it on as she watched the two leave together, standing very close. Unless she was wrong—and she almost never was—there was something there, developing between the two.

Sakura, blissfully unaware of the attention growing towards her relationship with Sai, pushed open the kitchen door and looked around for the last box. It was lying open on the beautiful marble countertop and Sai closed it before she had a chance to, picking it up with the intention to carry it back.

"You don't have to carry it Sai-san," the girl said, feeling guilty at making him do all the work. He shook his head. "You really don't mind?" When he nodded she pursed her lips and allowed him to step around her. They returned seconds later to find that with Temari's help, Kushina had passed out most of the pizza and was waiting for the last box. Sakura was given the first piece of cheese and had a hard time spitting out her thank you. Sai, still sticking to her side like a bur, trailed after her to an open spot on the couch.

Kiba, handing out soda, stopped in front of them to ask what they wanted. Sakura considered the choices. "M-Mountain Dew, please." Kiba glanced at Sai, frowning at the boy's lack of paper, about to turn to ask Kushina for some. To Kiba's immense surprise Sakura pointed at the coke in his right hand after looking at Sai for a moment. "He w-wants that one."

"He didn't say anything," Kiba said in disbelief.

Sai took the coke handed to him, looking pleased. The girl shrugged, "I just k-knew."

"By looking at him?" Kiba held up a hand to halt her answer. "No, its fine; weirder things have happened before." He tossed the Mountain Dew to her and turned on heel, wondering just what was up with the strange pair. The only other people he'd ever known to be able to read each other like that was Naruto's parents—and they were madly in love. It was just too weird to try and imagine Sai and Sakura in _love_ with one another and he stopped trying after a moment.

Sakura carefully opened her drink, balancing her plate in her lap as she did so. Sai was watching her, an amused tilt to his lips. "Shush," she said, though he hadn't said anything. "I'm doing my best." Because Kiba had tossed the drink to her, she had to twist the lid off little by little to keep the drink from fizzing out and getting all over her person.

Cold hands took the drink from her and she watched as Sai opened the lid all the way and instantly twisted it shut. He handed it back to her and she was finally able to open it without worry, looking surprised.

"I didn't know you had to do it fast." She confessed, pleased with learning something so useful. Sakura didn't often get to drink soda; her father was against the sugar and high fructose corn syrup they contained in mass amounts – so having them was a treat. She'd found days before that she liked Mountain Dew very much, probably just because of its incredible sugar ratio.

Sai showed her again with his own bottle of Coke and she paid careful attention, determined to get it right the next time. The pair ate in silence, watching the others resume with the video games, most of them paying more attention to it than their food.

"Do they always play so much?" Sakura asked Sai, wondering if this was all Sunagakure did at meetings.

He shrugged slowly.

"Only sometimes." She guessed, rewarded with a smile.

"You two seem to be getting on well," Gaara's slow voice said from behind them. They turned to look up at the Suna leader, Sai inclining his head with respect. Gaara waved off the gesture. "Relax Sai. It hasn't been so long you need treat me like a stranger again." He glanced up at Naruto who was waving his arms frantically from the other side of the room, nearly whacking Temari who hurriedly stepped away from him. "Naruto wants me to inform you, Sakura-san, that its time to open presents."

"R-Really?" Sakura closed the bottle of soda and stood, keeping a hold of her plate. Gaara, far too perceptive for his own good, picked up on Sakura's unease around him and stepped back, keeping a firm distance from the girl. From what his sister had told him about the girl, he'd been anticipating nervousness—prepared for a long wait before she was used to his presence. Something that would take some time, considering the long period of time he had to spend away from home.

Naruto was yelling at the other boys about coming over to open Sakura's gifts, making the girl pale—the idea of being the center of so much attention making her sick. Gaara sighed, wishing for once Naruto didn't assume people were as outgoing as he himself was. "Its fine, Naruto," the red-haired boy said loud enough for the others to hear. "Let them play their game, Sakura-san can thank them when we're done."

Sakura was conscious of a strong feeling of gratitude towards Gaara, allowing it to show on her face as they stopped before Naruto. She ducked her head when Gaara sent a knowing look back at her in response, his eyes tight with amusement, though his firm lips never moved.

Sai glanced at his leader, feeling something strange growing in his chest, spreading out through his limbs with an icy chill. He'd never felt the strong emotion before, so he held back on it, regarding it with cautious curiosity. The black-haired boy returned his attention to Sakura, who'd been handed her first present and was looking at it as though she was afraid it might bite her without warning. Amusement pushed out the bitter emotion and he cast it into the back of his mind for later review.

Konan's present once more in her hands, Sakura hesitate, aware that everyone was watching her closely—even the boys supposed to be playing on their Wii. She timidly began pulling at the bows, setting them onto the table when they fell undone. Kushina was standing back, a camera in her hands as she watched Sakura. It was like being apart of a massive family at Christmas and knowing they were waiting to see if you liked your presents. Suddenly she was nervous for the future, not looking forward to her birthday. She disliked the attention on her person.

Konan's present turned out to be expensive black leather gloves. Sakura blinked in surprise, shocked that Konan remembered that Sakura's previous pair of gloves had gotten the fingers cut off by the girl's in her class. She smiled happily and slipped them on, catching the flash of Kushina's camera as the woman snapped a quick picture. Probably for Konan.

"Wow, those are nice," Temari said, making Sakura lift her hand to show them off. She handed Sakura's next present over, grinning at the girl. Sakura quickly stripped off the gloves and checked the tag, catching Shikamaru and Temari's names together. Shikamaru regarded her lazily from across the table as she started unwrapping the gift.

Inside the bag was a pale blue sweater with a deep neck-line and vertical stripes sewn in. Sakura caught her breath, having recognized it instantly. It been a staggering three hundred dollars on sale at the mall around Christmas and now that the sales were over, she had no doubt the price had gone back up. She thanked the two nervously, afraid to touch the pretty sweater and not really sure how she'd ever work up the courage to wear it.

Naruto obviously didn't think as highly of it as she did, taking it out of her hands and tossing it over to Gaara who caught it easily and set it in the pile of opened gifts. She winced. "Here, Sakura-chan," the blonde said, thrusting his gift into her hands and grinning.

It continued for some time, Sakura growing dizzy as she tried to count how much money had been spent on her here. Naruto had bought her an Xbox360 and from there most of the boys had purchased games for her new game station and urged her to practice because, frankly, she sucked. Sai had framed the picture she'd drawn him and she couldn't believe the thoughtfulness in his simple gift, touched beyond words. The warmth in his eyes as he handed it to her was comforting and she had a hard time putting down the framed picture to continue unwrapping the rest.

Kankuro had gotten her two Paramore Cds, which Naruto was far more excited than Sakura, about. The girl had a feeling the Cds were more for his sake than anyone else; Naruto and Temari couldn't ever fight in his car if Paramore was playing on the radio. And now there was a way to have and endless supply of Paramore songs. She thanked him graciously, aware of a sense of fond amusement. Kushina handed her the last present, winking at the young girl as she did so.

"From the Uzumaki's."

Curious, Sakura tore into the package. Inside the thin envelope was a ticket for a play at Konohagakure's only theater—a staggeringly expensive theater—where Swan Lake would be playing for three nights. She held the costly ticket, hand shaking faintly. She'd always dreamed as a small girl of watching a live ballet performance, however unlikely. Kushina was studying her intently, waiting for her response.

"T-Thank you," the girl whispered, elation making her even prettier than usual—though no one in the room could see the small change. Naruto grinned at her, his eyes full of adoration as he flashed his mom a thumbs up, making sure she knew that they'd done well.

The party continued after that, with Naruto explaining how to set up her Xbox once she got home, making sure she knew that he was always willing to come over and help out if she was confused with anything. Temari forced Sakura, the latter incredibly reluctant, into the sweater and seemed satisfied with how it fit over the girl's slim form.

It was an hour later when the party finally started to wrap up, boys trickling out the door unwillingly, talking all the way to their cars—most of which were parked in Naruto's massive driveway and on the road. Kankuro had rudely parked his car in front of the neighbor's driveway and he and his siblings had been forced to leave early after the woman living there had come to complain. Temari had kissed Sakura's cheek, surprising the girl with the unexpected affection. After Gaara was gone, it hadn't taken long for the rest of the boys to clear out and leave Sai, Naruto and Sakura alone.

Sai was spending the night, so he wasn't leaving. When they realized Konan was going to be late, Kushina ushered the teens into the kitchen and sat them down at the breakfast nook with a scrabble board and left to start cleaning up the mess in the living room.

Konan arrived thirty minutes later than she'd told Sakura she would be and came into Naruto's house flustered and upset. "I'm sorry Sakura; I hadn't meant to stay so long."

Sakura shook her head in response, not having minded in the least. She'd gotten so absorbed in the Scrabble game with Naruto and Sai—both of them loosing to the black-haired boy who proved to have a vast knowledge of strange words—that she'd barely noticed the time pass. He'd beaten them by nearly one hundred points. They had just started up a game of Uno when Konan stepped through the door.

The blue-haired teen sat down in the chair beside Sakura, grinning at Kushina when the woman poked her head into the kitchen to tell Naruto his father would be home soon and to come help her clean up the living room if he wanted to eat out that night. He rose from his chair, muttering sulkily the entire time. Sai began to clean up the cards, shrugging off Sakura's attempt to help and firmly pressing her hands back to the table.

"Are you sure?" she asked, and was rewarded with a slightly annoyed look that made her smile. "Thank you, Sai. I hope you and Naruto have fun tonight."

Konan sat back, having a hard time believing how easygoing Sakura was in Sai's presence. She'd never heard the girl go so long with a single stutter. She eyed Sai with new respect and consideration. "You're spending the night?"

Sai looked over at Konan, his brows crinkling as he nodded. They knew each other through Temari and Naruto, though they could hardly be called friends. She was surprised by his reserve when talking to someone other than Sakura and started to piece together what was going on here. Well, this was an interesting addition to an already complicated puzzle.

"Shall we head out, Sakura?" Konan asked lightly, not wanting to hurry the girl even though she needed to get home and change for the next party she'd be attending with Itachi. Until the excitement over Itachi and Ino's engagement died down it would be a long time before she had a free night. As Itachi's richest business partner she was required to be by his side through all the parties he was invited to, though Pein was taking over half for her sake. It was killing her to have to sit at a table with Ino every night, looking at the girl's sulky face.

"Y-Yeah," Sakura agreed – her stammer back as she spoke to her friend. Konan felt a wave of disappointment wash through her, though she brushed it aside a half beat later. She knew that Sakura would take longer to warm up to some more than others; in Sai she probably found similarities to herself and therefore comfort.

"Good, I'll go get Naruto to carry your gifts out to the car. Meet me out there?"

Sakura nodded and Konan rose from the chair, shrugging her silk shawl back over her bare shoulders as she did so. The pink-haired girl took a moment to study the older girl in awe. Konan was truly a beauty in every sense of the word. She shook herself out of her daze as Sai snapped the card deck back into the box.

"I should go, Sai-san. I suppose I won't see you again until Friday?"

The boy nodded, reaching over for his notebook to write a reply. _I'll look forward to it. I'll bring you something to draw with._

Sakura beamed at him. "Thank you Sai-san, I would like that very much."

_Goodbye Sakura._

"Yeah," scratching her cheek in an unconscious imitation of Naruto, Sakura headed outside to Konan's car, meeting Naruto halfway as he lugged her new Xbox360 to it. Konan was carrying the bag with her games and Cds. Kushina handed Sakura the smaller bag with her sweater and new gloves when she hurried to help, wishing the girl a pleasant evening and expressing a desire to see her again. Sakura agreed easily, surprised by how much she'd come to like Naruto's mom through the duration of the afternoon.

Naruto hugged her tightly before he helped her into the car. "Drive carefully, Konan and don't forget to call Temari—she'll complain if you don't," Naruto told them, looking displeased. "I'll see you Monday Sakura-chan!"

"Y-Yeah." Sakura waved at Naruto as Konan pulled out of his driveway and headed down the street, settling back against the warm seats and looking out at the road as they drove. "Thank y-you for d-driving me nee-san."

"My pleasure, Sakura," Konan said and meant it. She smiled sidelong at the girl and doubled her speed as she reached the main road. "Did you have fun at the party?"

"Yes. It was t-tons of fun."

The blue-haired teen flashed Sakura a pleased look as she took a corner neatly, sliding across lanes and turning again into a different residential area. The houses here, while large and lovely, weren't half the size of the houses in Naruto's neighborhood and not even a fifth the size of Itachi's sprawling residence. Konan pulled along side of Sakura's pristine yard and glanced over at the girl. "Let's unload, shall we?"

"Mm." Sakura hummed in agreement and opened her door, reaching into the back seat for her large Xbox to take into the house first a long with the lighter bag of clothing items. Konan grabbed both bags of games and kicked her door shut with one high heeled foot. She didn't seemed worry about scratching the car and Sakura tired not to be either, though she had a nagging suspicion that Konan wasn't worried simply because the cost of repainting was nothing to her – indeed she was right.

Hikari was waiting for them, having heard the car pull up. The woman didn't show her shock at the number of things Sakura was bringing back, merely taking the bags from Konan with a mild look and murmuring something to the girls as she disappeared into the house with them. Konan looked down at her companion and once again felt a sense of remorse at having to leave. She really wanted some more of Sakura's cake and some time to get off her aching feet.

"Well, I've got to go, Sakura. I'll see you at school on Monday. Temari's already said she'll pick you up in the morning so Pein and I will be driving you back home."

"O-Okay."

Konan reached forward and hugged the smaller girl, kissing a pale cheek before she pulled back. "You looked really pretty today, Sakura," the older girl said, smiling. "We should go shopping sometime soon—you need a new uniform."

Sakura had to agree to that one. Her uniform had been put through a lot in the past few weeks; everything from dirt rubbed all over to small parts of her skirt being cut out and needing off-color patches sewn in. She and her mother had been planning on going the next weekend to see about getting a new one from the school.

"Maybe we'll go Tuesday then. Who knows? I'll see you Monday." Konan headed back down the steps and onto the side walk, her car speeding away a moment later as Hikari returned to Sakura's side, having deposited the numerous games on Sakura's bed.

"Come inside, love," the woman said, stepping back to let her daughter in. "Tell me all about the party. And then I think we'll go into the basement and find that old television set for your room. Good lord how much stuff did they give you?"

* * *

Gah. Just, GAH. Longest chapter yet. 10,000 words of _nothing_. It's practically a filler chapter. Well, with the exception of some adorable Saikura action. And that makes it all worth it. For me at least, but I'm too deaf to hear any complaints so don't bother.

FAN ART? Fan art you say?! Why yes—KRAWR on deviant art has created some beautiful Blue Romance art work that can be found through my profile. So go sing praises to her for it and yell at her to color it. Reader pressure – it works. I updated, didn't I?

MizuBenten, you are by far the funniest little thing on the planet. Am I allowed to want to gobble you up?

I'd like to apologize to those of you who actually read my rambling author's notes, for the long leave of absence in a new chapter. Not only was the story stolen, but MoonVeil is going through some really hard times and I decided to not try and put a chapter out until she could be here writing it with me. But she's better and you therefore have a spanky new chapter.

It's strange that the theme music for this chapter was "Circus - Britney Spears" mainly because I hate her. Stupid MoonVeil. Yes, you heard me you brat. Keep your damn music to yourself.

Last note, promise. **Links** to all cars mentioned in the story can be found in my profile. Check 'em. They're damn sexy.


	11. Not Such a Brat after All

Blue Romance

Disclaimer: Nope, not me.

Chapter Eleven: Not Such a Brat after All

**Important, please read:** In an irritating cycle, once again my story has been stolen. "Chiiyuki" has completely ripped the beginning of Blue Romance for her own story. Needless to say, I'm quite irate and pretty unwilling to be civil with her at this point. My beta MoonVeil is doing her best to be polite and talk with the girl, but I'm unleashing you all on her, and I don't feel guilty in the least.

Her story is called, Heiress, and a link has been posted on my profile. Normally I might not take such drastic—and probably a little cruel actions—but I'm tired of this. If you really like an author's story and you want to write a similar one **ASK PERMISSION TO CREATE A SIMILAR STORY LINE**. Theft is theft, and no author is going to feel flattered that you liked it so very much that you _stole it_.

And thank you to Sakura no Yoru, for your loyalty and for promptly contacting me about the theft.

* * *

Monday morning found Sakura sitting in her first hour class, near trembling with nerves. She'd heard from Temari—who'd been reluctant to part with her that morning—that Ino was back at school and not in a good mood. Which wasn't all that unusual, but still wasn't the kind of news she wanted to hear. Sakura had been enjoying the peace that had come with Ino's absence and wasn't looking forward to its end. Karin was grinning ear to ear; looking at Sakura in a way that promised pain sooner or later. Sakura couldn't imagine what she'd done that would merit getting 'punished' so soon into the week. Apparently Karin did, however.

The bell had barely rung when Ino swept into the room, looking like a model in a pair of ridiculously tight jeans and a low-dipping shirt that showed off her ample bosom. She flicked hair from her eyes and looked around the room, dismissing the teacher, who hadn't said a word about her late entrance, nor her lack of a school uniform. Ino's penetrating gaze stopped on Sakura and her eyes narrowed.

"Monster," she said loudly. She smiled and her straight, brilliantly white teeth flashed. "Come with me." She turned to the teacher, who still hadn't said a word, her smile growing larger. "You don't mind, do you, Sensei?"

"Of course not, Ino-sama," the woman nodded to Sakura. "Pack your things up, Haruno-san."

Sakura, feeling foolish for that split moment of hope she'd felt wishing that her teacher might come to her rescue, stood. She drifted to Ino's side, resisting the urge to nervously chew on her lip. Ino was like an animal; she sought that small vision of weakness in Sakura and would undoubtedly seize it should it be offered, so biting her lip and nails was out of the question. The blonde continued to smile, wrapping her arm around Sakura's shoulder in a mockingly warm gesture.

The girls left the classroom, shrouded in an uneasy silence. Ino lead the way to the club room, Sakura flanking her like a servant and not a companion. Sometimes Sakura wondered if that's what she was to Ino—a servant. It certainly felt like servitude, or slavery. But at other times it felt as though she were being treated like an animal. Petted and given treats when she behaved, and receiving punishment for disobedience.

The blonde girl pushed open the club door and walked in, carelessly letting the door close behind her; forcing Sakura to scramble forward hastily to catch it. By the time Sakura had entered the room and shut the door quietly behind herself, Ino had made herself comfortable in the large arm chair set aside just for her. She gestured towards the mini-refrigerator in the corner.

"Bring me something to drink, monster," she instructed haughtily.

"Yes Ino-sama," Sakura replied, steeling her words so that they would not come out as a stuttered mess. She retreated back across the room and stopped at the fridge, kneeling in front of it and inspecting its contents. She pulled out a large bottle of water and made her way back to Ino, bowing slightly before presenting Ino with the drink.

The girl nodded and took it, "very good. You remembered that I don't like drinks with sugar. Good girl." She reached up and rubbed Sakura's head roughly—further proof that Sakura was indeed considered an animal as far as Ino was concerned. "It's terrible for the skin and I simple cannot have acne. Since you've done something right for once I'll reward you; you may go retrieve something to drink as well."

Surprised, Sakura took a moment to react. Then she hustled over to the fridge, not wanting Ino to get annoyed and revoke her treat. The girl hesitated a moment, her hand curling around a Mountain Dew, remembering what Ino said about sugar and wondering if the girl would be angry Sakura picked out something with so much sugar after being warned of its hazards to the skin. Defiantly Sakura curled her hand around the soda and lifted it out, her desire to get to reunite with her beloved death-in-a-can soda overpowering her fear of Ino. For now, at least, she knew.

She returned to Ino's side and knelt down in front of the girl, popping open the drink and taking a large gulp quickly in case it was taken from her. Ino looked over her choice in drink and slowly one eyebrow rose. The look on her face was a mixture of condescending superiority and annoyance. Well that proved it. She didn't like people going against her advice.

Feeling the need to explain herself before she got kicked, or worse, Sakura blurted out: "I like this. Mountain Dew, I m-mean. My father n-never lets m-me drink it so I like to when I c-can."

"How many times have I instructed you to silence that irritating speech impediment?" there was no real anger in Ino's voice. She seemed to be considering something. At length she smirked as though pleased by whatever she'd figured out. "Now monster, we need to get back onto why I called you here. I understand that you've been invited by Uzumaki-kun to go see a play?"

Surprised and unprepared, Sakura nodded. The silence lingered for a beat until she realized Ino was waiting for an answer. "O-Oh. Yes I-Ino-sama."

Ino tapped one of her long finger nails against her lip. "Tell me monster—what are your feelings for Uzumaki-kun?"

"He, w-w-well," Sakura struggled for a way to describe Naruto, unable to think of _why_ this subject would be interesting to Ino. "Naruto is I—I guess like a brother."

"A brother? That's all?"

Sakura nodded slowly and Ino hummed quietly, her lips pursed as she considered. Finally she nodded and looked back down at Sakura.

"Very well. You may go with Naruto to see Swan Lake, or whatever it is that's playing. When is it?"

"Friday."

Ino uncapped her water and took a long drink. She sighed and recapped the bottle when she was done, setting it down on the table next to her. "Now, monster—let us move on to the real reason I brought you here." Ino crossed her long legs, her icy eyes freezing Sakura to the spot. Instantly, the sense of calmness and almost comfort that had settled around them was gone.

Sakura hunched in on herself, fear making sweat break out on her temple. The last time Ino had looked like this, she'd almost cut off Sakura's hair. The girl licked her lips, trying to hold back on the intense desire she had to run. Run as fast and far away from Ino as she possibly could.

"You attended a party this weekend, did you not?"

Realizing Ino wanted an answer, Sakura tried to make use of her clogged throat. "I-I-I did."

The blond rapped her long nails against the side of her bottle. "Tell me, monster—did you ask permission?"

Understanding flooded Sakura and she frantically sought an answer that would please Ino and keep herself from getting hit. Honesty seemed the best choice. "N-No, Ino-sama."

The rapping stopped instantly and Sakura swallowed as Ino leaned over until they were nose to nose. The girl's eyes were slits. "And you went anyway?"

"Y-Yes," Sakura breathed.

Ino's eyebrows twitched in an odd manner and she pulled back sharply, twisting herself around in the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. The posture reminded Sakura of a child sulking over some lost toy, or being denied candy. "You're not allowed to go places with Konan, monster, I thought I'd made you aware of this. You belong to _me_!"

Sakura blinked. Okay—that original sulking image was really starting to flesh out. It seemed almost like Ino was jealous. The pink-haired girl sat, stunned by this new revelation, wondering just what exactly she truly meant to Ino. She might still be considered a pet—one that Ino was reluctant to share…?

"Are you listening to me, monster?" Ino huffed. "I really should punish you for such disobedience." She didn't look at Sakura as she spoke. Her gaze was far away, as though she were imagining out scenarios of punishment. Sakura suddenly understood just why Karin had been grinning at her during class; the girl was positive that Ino had something horrible in store for Sakura and she couldn't wait to see what. It was strange to think it, but Sakura was beginning to feel that she had more to worry about from **Karin** than Ino.

Sakura jumped in surprise as Ino's hand connected with the top of her head. The girl didn't seem to notice her distress; she ran her fingers through Sakura's hair as though it soothed her, Sakura was hardly soothed, though she'd never let Ino in on that little bit of information. The blonde's face slowly smoothed out, the cruel twist of her mouth fading. She finally looked back at Sakura, obviously having decided something.

"I won't punish you this time, monster. But be aware that I will not tolerate such things in the future."

Stunned into absolute silence, Sakura could only nod stupidly. Ino didn't seem to mind her quietness, continuing to pet the girl. Sakura let her eyes drift closed—imagining, just for a moment—that it was her mother's hand; that she was a child again. She basked in the comfort of this strange gesture, feeling close to tears.

The moment was broken as Ino's cell phone began to ring loudly from within her purse. Sakura blinked away the tears in her eyes, feeling sure that Ino was about to dismiss her. She was right. Sounding choked up, as though she too had been caught up in the affection, Ino ordered Sakura to leave.

"I'll probably be leaving soon," Ino told the girl, avoiding looking at her. Instead she focused on her purse where her phone continued to ring. "Don't try anything funny today. Now go."

Sakura bowed slightly and hurried out of the room, flicking the last tears off her eyelashes, hoping Ino hadn't seen them. It was likely, since the blonde hadn't once looked at her during the exchange. The door slid shut behind her and Sakura lifted her head, wondering just how much class work she'd be making up again.

She froze, seeing Karin standing against the opposite hall. From the look of rage on Karin's face, she'd been expecting Sakura too come out looking like Ino'd tried to rearrange her face with her fists. Sakura didn't move for a long moment, terrified that Karin was about to explode with violence. When the red-head continued to stand in silence, Sakura decided it was time to make a run for it.

Her fleeing instinct had long been kicked into overdrive and she was desperate to let it take over. The girl slid a foot forward, letting her weight slowly shift to that foot as she literally inched away from Karin and down the hall. She kept her eyes firmly on Karin as she did so, preparing herself to take off running should the need come.

But Karin didn't move. She remained looking at the door to Ino's club, the murderous look never leaving her eyes. "It won't last," she said finally, when Sakura had been seconds from taking the final step into the adjoining hall. She froze, looking at Karin in worry. "This peace. Eventually Ino-sama will tire of you." Her head twisted around and their eyes met. Sakura felt her stomach drop, bile rising in her throat. Karin smiled darkly, looking capable of murder. "And when she does, I'll be the one to take care of you. And trust me; I'll enjoy every moment."

Sakura ran.

_____________

By the time the bell rang for the final time of the day, signaling that classes were over and students free to leave, Sakura had envisioned her death at least fifty times; unable to get Karin's eyes—that dark, cruel hatred—from her mind. Thankfully she hadn't seen Karin, or Ino, since that morning, meaning the call Ino had received had probably been another meeting. If it was, it meant the likelihood of Konan coming to pick her up was slim to none. Sakura collected up her books and the class work she'd once again have to finish tonight to be able to make up for the time lost when Ino pulled her from class.

Having not spotted Temari in the halls, Sakura wandered outside, wondering if she was going to walk home for the first time since this mess had all started. It surely seemed that way—or at least it had, until she'd spotted her ride, standing in the parking lot.

Deidara, slouched against Konan's beloved car, was wearing his uniform shirt half open, the tie completely off and absent. There was a burning cigarette in one of his hands that he didn't appear to be smoking; instead he was staring blankly at the sky overhead, looking bored. Sakura had, of course, noticed previously that Deidara was extraordinary good looking, but she'd never really paid that much attention to it before.

Seeing him like this was doing odd things to her heart and she tried to focus on what he was looking at to distract herself. "It's cloudy." Deidara remarked without warning, lifting the cigarette up and taking a long drag. He blew the smoke out over their heads and watched it fade. "O-Oh, yeah." Sakura focused once again on the puffy white clouds that blocked out the blue sky. "I g-guess it is."

Deidara flicked the cigarette down to the ground and put it out with the toe of his boots. "Konan sent me to pick you up, yeah." He pushed off the car and moved towards her. "Another meeting with," he trailed off, pointedly not saying Ino's name.

Sakura tried not to make a face at that—though her curiosity was running rampant.

"Anyway," Deidara announced as he stood over her, staring down at her. "I should get you home."

"Yes, o-of c-course," Sakura responded, feeling nervous standing so close to him. It was nothing like standing next to Sai—who made her feel safe and warm, or Sasuke who irritated her with his mere presence. Nor Itachi, who caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach. It was an anxious sort of feeling; Deidara had darkness in him that was far too familiar to her.

"Though," the boy said slowly, his one eye narrowing slightly in thought. "There is something I would like to speak to you about. If—of course—you can spare some time?"

Surprised, Sakura nodded instantly. This might be her best chance to find out something about Ino and she wasn't going to let that pass up. "Y-Yes! I m-mean, yes. I'd like t-to t-talk to you t-to."

"Thanks, yeah." He turned around, walking towards the driver's side of the car. "Get in. And don't look so worried; I'm a fine driver."

Somehow his appearance and "safe driver" didn't mesh well together. Sakura had flash backs to her brief stint driving in the video game GTA and frowned deeply. Taking a deep breath she forced herself into the front seat of the car, placing her heavy school bag at her feet and buckling up.

Deidara waited until she was settled before he shifted the car into the proper gear and pulled away from the school. Sakura settled back against the warm seats and watched him drive from the corner of her eye. From the right side, you'd never think that his left eye was damaged enough to need to cover it.

Sakura sighed softly. She'd been wondering for awhile now what exactly had caused Deidara's eye to be lost. She knew that it had something to do with the boy's father, though Konan hadn't said anything more than that. It was even harder to think of him and Ino as siblings.

While Deidara sometimes seemed as cold and withdrawn as Ino could be, she knew very well that he could also be outgoing and amusing—he fought playfully with Konan all the time. Whatever darkness had poisoned the siblings, Ino had taken most of it, and Deidara had been left with some of his original humanity.

Sakura glanced up as Deidara stopped the car. They now sat in front of a small park that was just a street away from her house—easily within walking distance. Deidara got out of the car and walked towards the vacant swing set, Sakura scurrying after him. When she was mostly caught up he began to speak, cutting to the chase and not dancing around it.

"Ino," he began and Sakura craned her neck to look up at him. His good eye was tight with pain. "Is she well?"

Floored, Sakura stopped walking. Deidara stopped as well and moved in front of her so that he could look down at her. His face was smooth, but his eye burned with more emotions that she wanted to see. Sakura understood anyway. Deidara still loved his sister very much. And, from the blatant worry that creased his brow, he feared for her.

Sakura's chest clenched and an odd, foreign emotion seized hold of her. She worded her next statement carefully, not wanting to hurt him. "Ino…she's okay. Healthy."

"She's cruel, isn't she?" Her silence was answer enough. "She wasn't always like that. She was such a kind child." Deidara's face was distant and shrouded in agony. There was a deep longing in his voice; he missed the Ino that he spoke of as though she'd died. In a way she had. Sakura could never see her Ino acting in a kind manner.

"W-Why did she change?" Sakura asked, needing to know. There was too much she was still unaware of.

"Our mother." Deidara finally looked at Sakura, the intensity in his gaze making her aware that _she_ was the only thing he could see. "You—you're so much like her. It's agonizing."

Sakura let that sink in. She cleared her throat and asked slowly, "in a-appearance?"

Deidara frowned. His hand raised and tugged lightly on her long bangs, bringing her attention to its color. "No. You look nothing alike—it's your personality. It's in the way move and the sound of your voice." His next sentence was hardly louder than a whisper. "The fact that you _draw_."

"I don't understand," she confessed. Was Ino tormenting her because of a lingering hatred for her mother? Nothing seemed to be making sense anymore.

"It's—," Deidara stopped talking, glaring at something over Sakura's shoulder. He sighed and the tense air between them was suddenly snapped, the conversation broken. "My, my, his spies are better than I'd have imagined." Abruptly he left her standing there, walking back to the car he'd come in.

Sakura twisted around to watch him leave, puzzled. There, next to Deidara's car, looking furious, was Sasuke. He didn't say anything to Deidara as the taller blonde passed, but the look on his face was enough to peel paint. Once Deidara was in the car, Sasuke started towards Sakura. She glared at him through her fringe of hair, grabbing back up her backpack.

She'd _finally_ been getting information out of SOMEONE and then he'd had to come play hero. Never had she been more annoyed with Sasuke than she was now.

"Sakura," the boy tried. She walked past him, heading towards her house. "Sakura wait!"

"G-Go away." He began to follow her and Sakura felt her face twitch into something that probably resembled irritation. "I mean it S-Sasuke. Go away!"

His tone was cajolingly. "Please listen, Sakura. It's important."

"No." She broadened her step, trying to move faster. He easily matched her though, his longer legs giving him the advantage. It wasn't fair.

"I have to talk to you about something—it's an invitation to tea."

"From w-whom?" Sakura kept walking.

"The invitation is from Orochimaru's wife."

And then she stopped waking, twisting around so fast she almost fell over. "_Who's wife_?" she demanded, feeling like she'd been hit over the head with a brick. It was impossible to imagine that weirdo Orochimaru as being **married**. The woman was probably a she-devil, and as creepy as her husband.

"Orochimaru's wife—her name is Kahoko. I've been talking to her about you and she really would like to meet you." He correctly guessed where her thoughts were going and added, "she's really pretty and sweet."

Pretty and sweet, plus "Orochimaru's wife" didn't fit together. The image of the woman in her mind was distorted and freakish.

"She wants to meet m-me?" Sakura repeated dubiously.

"Yes, you." Sakura made a face and he smiled in victory, knowing he'd won. "You'll go then?" She nodded. "Excellent. Is Sunday good?"

"Sunday is f-fine." She'd be home from the theater by then. That settled, the pink-haired girl changed the subject, not wanting to discuss the chance of Orochimaru's—possibly—insane wife cutting her up in a few days time for tea. "How did you know I was here?"

"A spy texted me that Deidara had picked you up, but that you hadn't arrived home."

Sakura ground her teeth together. "You're _spying _on me?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied, not even looking abashed. "It's for your own safety. "Since you've decided to hang out with those Akatsuki morons, you're no longer safe."

"I'm perfectly f-fine with Akatsuki."

"Sure." He shrugged. "With them, maybe, while you're in favor—but enemies of Akatsuki will be enemies of yours now. That means that you need extra protection from here on."

Sakura hadn't thought about that, though she really should have. Otogakure, Konohagakure, Sunagakure and Akatsuki were the main gangs of _this_ area, but not of all. Gangs outside city limits considered anyone apart of an opposing gang an enemy and confrontations between two groups often lead to deaths and hospital visits. Sakura wasn't just affiliated with Akatsuki anymore though—with Sasuke always hanging around and Temari one of her good friends, she was connected to _every _gang.

It really shouldn't have taken her so long to understand the dangers of her new companions, though she knew, in her heart, the danger wasn't enough to make her abandon her new friendships.

Ino would be nothing compared to a group of irrational gang members, Sakura understood and she couldn't help but be a little grateful that Sasuke was going out of his way to keep her safe from them. Though he was still incredibly annoying, she reminded herself. Prideful Uchiha brat, indeed.

"What's t-texting?" she wondered as she tried to bring her mind back to something less worrisome.

Sasuke stared at her, his black eyes fathomless. "You're kidding."

"No…Why w-would I be k-kidding?"

"You don't know what texting is? Really?" He was so surprised now, that she couldn't help but be embarrassed. It wasn't _her_ fault she wasn't up-to-date on teen-y stuff. She'd only just started getting into things that the teens around her did. He expected too much of her. "Uh, how to explain this... You have your cell phone?"

She set down her bag and pulled it from within one of the larger pockets and handed it over to him, watching as he flipped open the keyboard to search around.

"I see you have all of Akatsuki's contacts," he said, irritated, "and Suna. Why are Tayuya and I still your only Otogakure contacts? Honestly." He began to punch numbers into the phone from memory, filling her already gaping contact list with **more** people she didn't know and wouldn't be calling. He was engrossed in that for a few minutes and she waited with practiced patience for him to finish. "There," he announced at length. "Now you have ALL our numbers."

"T-Thanks."

Sasuke moved closer and closed the keyboard, going into her contacts list to his own number. He carefully explained texting and then demonstrated by sending one to his own phone. She was able to respond to it when his return message came and found it to be surprisingly easy once she understood what she was doing. Once again—very much against her own will—Sakura found herself grateful for Sasuke's help. It was so frustrating that he was making himself useful.

"Texting is fast and, once you get a hang of the keys, really easy. You can do it in class if you want, so long as you turn your phone to vibrate." He took a moment to teach her that as well, and she left it on vibrate. Her father still wasn't aware that Sasuke'd gotten her a phone and she wanted to keep it that way.

Sasuke was half through telling her how she could download songs as ringtones—as many as she wanted, he promised, making sure she understood no matter how high her phone bill was he'd pay it—when they both realized that they'd been in the park for almost an hour, and Sakura still hadn't contacted her mother to let the woman know she'd be late home that evening.

"I shouldn't have kept you." The Uchiha handed back her phone and picked her bag up for her. "I'll walk you home."

"T-That's okay," she told him. She hadn't explained to Hikari exactly why she'd tried to return Sasuke's flowers, but the woman was beginning to notice that _something_ odd was going on between them. The last thing she wanted right now was for her step-mother to think she was in love with Sasuke or something equally ridiculous to that.

"I insist. I'd like to talk to you, anyway." He began walking towards her house, still holding her bag, and she was left with no choice but to follow. He cleared his throat and said formally, "I shouldn't have kissed you like that the other day. I've been thinking about it for awhile—I should stop forcing you into stuff, I know. But sometimes I just get so frustrated that you don't instantly go along with me."

Sakura rolled her eyes and withheld "you're such a spoiled brat" but he was basically already admitting to that, and he was working on an apology, so she let him continue.

"I've never really had anyone who cared about me, so I always push people to follow me." He exhaled noisily. He was obviously humiliated in admitting this to her, but Sakura got the feeling it was something he needed to talk about. "You liked Temari and her idiot troupe instantly; I was so pissed off at you. I had come along first, so why wouldn't you form a bond with me?" He paused, "our first meeting wasn't great, I'll admit."

Sakura thought back to being shoved against the lockers of his school and snorted over how much of an understatement that was. Their first meeting had been **terrible**.

"But you started fighting with me." He smiled wryly, amused all at once. "You looked at **me**, not at my name. You spoke to me—and not the money and power that goes along with my name. It was nice. My mother doesn't even look at me and see Sasuke."

Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eye. There was a bitter undertone to his speech, which hinted at a long boiling rage. She knew a little that Sasuke's mother was rarely seen outside her house, though the rumors circulating about why were never fully formed. The most widely spread theory was that Itachi's betrayal of the family had destroyed her will and body, and that she lay inside her house, now a sickly, pathetic creature.

However, from the way Sasuke spoke, she was starting to see that might not be the whole story. Konan had spoken only once about Itachi's mother during lunch and had said merely that she was a "beautiful, but twisted woman", so Sakura wasn't sure how to make that out. What exactly made her so very twisted?

"You may not like me much, Sakura. But you're…important to me." He looked away, his cheeks turning a light pink. "I just want you to be happy, okay? So if I buy you nice stuff, it's not to win you over, it's just an attempt to make you happier."

Sakura felt her own cheeks heat up for some bizarre reason. She rubbed her arm and tried to shake it off. "T-Thanks then, I g-guess."

Sasuke handed over her backpack and she looked back to see they were on the front part of her sidewalk. "I'll text you later to let you know what time Kahoko would like you to come over."

Kahoko—Sakura remembered; she'd nearly forgotten—the (possibly) crazy wife of Orochimaru. "I'll w-wait for it then."

"Good." He hesitated and then reached up to pat her on the shoulder awkwardly. "See you later, Sakura."

She watched him go before heading into her house, her mind wandering around in aimless circles. Twice today her heart had gone all skippy over boys. Which was totally _not_ normal—and beyond that it was _Itachi_ she liked. Not Deidara or that brat Sasuke. Who, unfortunately, was beginning to seem less like a brat and more like someone who'd suffered though an unhappy childhood.

It was so unfair. Couldn't there be anyone she could dislike that didn't have a crummy past that would make her feel bad for them?

Sakura called out a greeting to Hikari, who didn't seem all that upset or surprised by her lateness, and then headed up to her room. She texted as she walked up the staircase, careful not to run into anything, since she was looking at the screen and not her feet. Sasuke had told her that pretty much everyone had texting in their phone's plans, but she was still a little worried that texting Konan was dangerous, so she tried Temari instead.

It seemed like something the blonde would enjoy having on her phone. She composed the message casually, watching her spelling so she didn't misspell anything and confuse Temari. _Dear Temari, _she wrote, _I just wanted to let you know I'm home safe. I met Sasuke and he invited me to meet Orochimaru's wife—do you know anything about her? He also taught me to text. It's much simpler than I originally thought. –Sakura H._

She sent the text and waited. It was a very short wait.

_hey sakura. u don't have to be so correct. it's a text message. oro's wife is really nice, nothing like her husband so don't worry._

Sakura stared at the message, taking a moment to puzzle over "u" before figuring it out and feeling remarkably stupid. She then giggled over "Oro" instead of "Orochimaru". It was an extremely rude way to address an older man, but she liked it. It was very Temari-ish. She came up with a quick reply before getting out the work she'd missed and her homework and getting started on it.

The phone buzzed on her desk, signaling another text and she lifted it up to view it. It was not Temari, but Sasuke. His message was brief. _Kahoko will expect you Sunday at noon. I'll have Tayuya give you directions when she goes back to school Friday. Sleep well, Sakura._

She stared at the text, not sure what she felt. Annoyed, maybe, that Sasuke didn't do that cool "text talk" where everything was hard to figure out, but pleased, somehow, that he'd wished her a goodnight's sleep. Sakura closed her phone, disgusted with herself, and went down for dinner.

* * *

Hello everyone, it's been a long, long time. Gah. Um…how to explain? I graduated high school this year—WHOO—and I've just started at the local college, so I'm really short on writing time. I also just got a job, so I'm working a lot, too. I still haven't saved up enough to get my own place, but I'm hoping eventually to have a place of my own, preferably before I turn into a spinster.

As to what I said at the top of the page, it was reported to me a couple of months ago that someone had ripped the beginning of Blue Romance and I was just so utterly frustrated and angry that I gave up writing for awhile. But MoonVeil's been pressuring me, and I've been getting everyone's awesome reviews, so I decided I should start up again.

It's not a very long chapter, and I feel pretty rusty, but I'm glad to be writing again. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully another one soon. Hopefully. Remember to review, it's everyone who's been giving me support that made this chapter possible.

Shout-outs:** MoonVeil** (my awesome beta, I love you) — **Sakura no Yoru** (you're an absolute angel, seriously) — **BlUe-EyEd-NiNjA-of ThE UsA** (I love that you enjoyed my story so much!) — **MizuBenten** (yeah, I wish I had some money to get myself some of these hawt cars, too) — **Kurisutii-chan **(HERE'S YOUR UPDATE, LOVE /re-capslockabuse) — **Llamas Are Sexy **(how can I be upset when such a sexy reviewer gobbles my story?) — **yellowcamaro** (I wish I had siblings like them too, trust me) — and lastly, **sachiko haruki**, thanks for all your reviews, dear.

I'll see you all in the next chapter!

Tee hee, hee! Oro-chan's got a girlfriend! (giggle fit)


	12. Telling Secrets

Blue Romance

Disclaimer: All rights go to Kishimoto.

Chapter Twelve: Telling Secrets

**A/N:** I nearly started this chapter off with a nice long rant about how terrible theft is and how enraged I am about the whole mess, but I decided against it. The story is down, I'm sure Chiiyuki is feeling as bad, if not worse, than I am, so let's be done. I have amazing readers who stand behind me—muttering about updates—and that's the best medicine for an ache ever.

This chapter is for MoonVeil's eighteenth birthday. It's a little late, considering that was April 29, but ahh. Who's counting? I love you very much, my dear, and I wish you luck with all things coming. May you write forever and find Carlisle Cullen somewhere along the way.

It was also Jasmett's birthday recently, so happy birthday to you as well! I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the review. For the rest of you, enjoy this new chapter.

* * *

It was a long week, and by the time Friday arrived, Sakura'd had about all she could take of school, and the things that came along with that small, dark word. Ino's frequent absences continued, though Karin was around plenty, always making sure to give Sakura hearty shoves into lockers. There'd even been a nice little box cutter left in her gym clothes that she'd cut her fingers open with. Thankfully they hadn't been deep and she'd passed them off as paper cuts to Temari.

She didn't want to worry the blonde about the added danger to her stressed routine. Temari was already sacrificing a lot; going out of her way to help Sakura. The last thing she needed was having to check all of Sakura's things to make sure nothing was booby trapped. That'd just be annoying and Sakura didn't want the girl to resent her for the extra work.

She wasn't sure why Karin hated her so much, though she rightly assumed it had something to do with Tayuya's estrangement from their family for Sakura's sake. Tayuya was being very laid back about it all. She'd returned to school on Wednesday and had been by Sakura's side ever since. Temari and Konan had at first been wary about it, but they'd accepted the mouthy girl easily enough.

Tayuya was one of the people Sakura texted frequently. Updates on where she was, mostly, but also conversations about anything that struck their fancy. Her friendship with the girl was an odd, but welcomed one. She enjoyed getting to spend time with her, even if it was through a phone.

Sasuke bothered her more frequently now, through her cell phone, about the oddest things. He'd asked for her favorite color, flower; even her favorite band. She couldn't put her finger on the **why's** in that, and she'd probably have to just wait and see. Though he annoyed her more often, she could tell Sasuke was softening up and it made him—somewhat, not very much though!—more endearing.

"Sakura," Hikari called from in her room. She looked away from the mirror. She'd combed her hair up into a simplistic bun, smoothing out any bumps and was now carefully pulling her bangs out. The woman made a face seeing this. But, considering this was the second party Sakura had attended like this, she didn't argue.

"Yes?" The girl popped in the last bobby pin. Everything stayed in place when she removed her hands and she grunted in satisfaction.

Hikari smiled, "your father's ready to take you now. Got everything?"

The pink-haired girl cast a look down at the sleek gold handbag and then at her reflection in the mirror. She could see herself there; face obscured by hair, body wrapped in an elegant gold evening gown. It shimmered in the overhead lighting, casting a nice color on the parts of her skin that weren't covered by the dress's deep cut.

Konan had insisted upon buying Sakura a dress, reminding the girl that she was going to a pricey event where ALL the women would be wearing such clothing. In the end, it was the idea of being the only person wearing jeans that forced her hand. That image was just too mortifying to keep in her mind.

"Yeah," Sakura told her. Her mother walked over and put a small vial of perfume into the purse as well as two twenties.

"That should be enough," the woman murmured, instructing Sakura on how to hold the strapless bag. "You have your phone?"

"Of c-course."

"Good, good." Hikari beamed. "Then I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura nodded, embarrassed. She would _never _understand how Naruto's mother had convinced her father to let her spend the night. It was high up on his "never let your daughter do" list. But he seemed to be pretending that Naruto didn't even exist.

The girl let her mother guide her out of her bedroom and into the front hall. It was a little tricky navigating the stairs in high heels, but she had good balance and each step was easier. They arrived to find her father had already gone to start the car. Hikari sighed gently.

"Don't blame him; he doesn't know how to act, dear."

Sakura nodded silently. She accepted a hug from her mother, wished her a pleasant evening and hurried to the car. She got in, just as silent as before, and buckled up. Her father didn't speak to her during the drive, his hands tapping the wheel during stops was the only sign of his agitation. He still hadn't forgiven her for her continuing friendship with Konan and Akatsuki in general, and he wasn't likely to. To him, Ino was a perfect angel; everything Sakura should aspire to be.

It was putting it lightly to say neither saw eye-to-eye.

They arrived shortly thereafter, to find Kushina waiting on the porch for them. She was as lovely as ever; her long, glossy hair hanging in waves over her shoulders. She wore a dark blue evening gown with a plunging neckline that showed off the creamy tone of her skin very well. Sakura scuttled out of the car as fast as she could.

Her dad barely stayed long enough to send a jerky nod at Kushina before he was gone again. Sakura was slightly surprised when Kushina's arm wrapped around her shoulder gently. The woman smiled kindly down at her.

"It's so nice to see you again Sakura. You look lovely."

"T-Thank you," she mumbled, humiliated at her father's rudeness. But Kushina didn't seem to mind it, or was simply too good at hiding her emotions.

The woman directed her into the house and made sure that Sakura got a cup of chilled water while they waited for Naruto to finish dressing. While she sipped the drink, Kushina inquired politely towards Sakura's schooling and her afterschool activities. She was very interested in Sakura's piano recitals and insisted that Sakura sent her a ticket to see one of the girl's shows.

The girl had been very nervous going to the school's music teacher about playing in performances, but the elderly woman had been excited to have additions. She'd exclaimed over Sakura's mastery at the piano and had prodded and pushed until Sakura agreed to play at the school's valentine's show.

It was an event that was hosted for parents, mostly, where they could come and mingle with one another. The students came to dance and share a moment with their sweethearts. Sakura had been terrified that Naruto would make her dance with him, so having an excuse to bail out was wonderful. She loved Naruto dearly, but dancing was not her forte.

Kushina agreed to come and take a look when Sakura preformed. Their conversation was ended by Naruto bursting into the kitchen like a whirl wind. He was wearing a pair of elegant pants that fit well and a stark-white button up shirt with a gray vest over. The blonde grinned happily.

"Sakura-chan!" He scooped her up into his arms, wrinkling both their immaculate clothes. "I'm so happy you could come!" He gushed, excitement contagious. "We're going to have so much fun tonight! Mom's ordering from this Chinese place down the street; they have the most amazing food. You'll love it."

Kushina, smiling broadly, left the room silently; leaving Naruto to release a week's pent up speech on Sakura. Though they'd both assumed they'd see each other on rides to school during the week, thanks to busy schedules and Itachi's upcoming wedding, Deidara had been coming to pick up Sakura more and more.

It was a little odd that she was becoming so familiar with Deidara—as it was something she'd never anticipated happening—but he was so easy to get along with it was hard not to become comfortable around him. She'd noticed, however, he didn't seem to feel the same about her. She'd been wondering about the last in-depth conversation they'd shared and mulling for the meaning.

He'd mentioned her being like his mother—not in appearance, but in personality. Her hobby of painting had seemed to be a sharp, painful edge and she hadn't wanted to bring it up, though she was intensely curious. This could be the reason Ino despised her so and she was desperate for answers. She couldn't live like this forever, and there was still so much school she had to suffer through.

But perhaps she wouldn't have to suffer much longer; Ino seemed to be changing. Whenever she and Sakura DID cross paths, she made sure to flaunt her authority, but never physically attacked Sakura as she had in the past.

"So, should we watch a movie, or play games tonight?" Naruto mused, returning her to the very much one-sided conversation he was carrying.

"I like e-either."

"Okay then." The blonde nodded to himself, "we'll do both. No sleep for you tonight!" Sakura winced; glad her mother had the foresight to let her sleep in some that morning. "You know I had a bottle of organic tea this afternoon and there was a scrape on the top that looked just like a strawberry."

Off topic. Sakura couldn't help but grin at how one-track his mind was. "That's c-cool. Did you k-keep it?"

"Yeah!" He grinned back, brighter and bigger. Kushina popped her head around the archway leading into the room.

"Your father's ready so we're leaving."

Both teens nodded back at her and she winked. Naruto slipped his hand easily into Sakura's and squeezed lightly. He prodded her forward, swinging their joined hands as they headed towards the sleek silver car waiting in the driveway. Sakura felt a momentary worry that the sight of the obviously expensive car didn't strike anything in her.

It was a clear sign she was spending too much time around wealthy people. They were corrupting her brain from the inside.

Naruto sat with her in the backseat, teaching her how to turn on the seat warmer and lean it back. He also started up a children's movie on the overhead television. She'd never seen one of them in a car before and somehow it seemed a little extravagant. But it occupied Naruto thoroughly and she thought she should casually mention to Kankuro installing one in his car.

They made good time, speeding along the highway as twilight settled fully over the distant mountains. It made a beautiful picture and she watched the view from her window. Kushina and Minato spoke softly to one another and the car was filled with an easygoing air that made the girl feel very relaxed. There was nothing here that made her feel as though she should try to chatter away the quiet.

The car slowed as they reached the downtown area. The houses were suddenly older and the buildings reached up towards heaven. The streets were packed with people, bustling around on Friday night. The Konoha Theater was very crowded; the exterior of the building was wrapped in thousands of bright, twinkling lights that invited in guests.

Minato parked in the reserved area and Kushina swept the teens out like a mother hen, reminding Naruto not to wander off. They filed in, joining a group of well dressed women and men as they were bustled about. Their seats were up on the balcony, towards the back. It was an excellent view and they wouldn't miss a single part of the show.

Naruto yawned and began to leaf through the pamphlet they'd been handed upon entering. Sakura pulled out her bag and checked to make sure her phone was on vibrate before glancing through the messages she'd gotten while in the car. Temari and Konan had both expressed the wishes she would enjoy herself; Tayuya told her she'd seen the play last year and it was boring.

Sasuke asked if she liked sweets. She pondered that one for a moment before putting together a quick response. _I like sweets,_ she admitted, _but not chocolate._

His reply was very prompt and gave away nothing. _Okay, thank you._

Curiosity raged through her veins and Sakura put away her phone frustrated. Sasuke was up to something, she knew that much, what he was up to was the mystery. The lights dimmed then and she settled back in her seat, pushing the thoughts out as she focused on enjoying the play.

**-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-**

Sakura sat on Naruto's floor, feeling exhilarated. Naruto, at his mother's insistence, was putting down a sheet on the floor over his rich, plush carpet. She'd told them it'd be easier to clean off stains from the blanket than the carpet. Once the sheet was smoothed flat he started spooning out their Chinese food.

On his—way larger than it needed to be—flat screen TV, a movie was just starting up, the opening credits rolling along. He'd mentioned it was a comedy and that he was too afraid of ghosts to watch anything scary. Which was fine with Sakura; she'd never watched one and she had no inclination to in the future.

She accepted the Mountain Dew and plate of sesame chicken he handed over, putting the bottle by her side and balancing the plate carefully in her lap. They were leaned up against his bed, which was around the same size as her parent's bed. Why he would need so much space for just himself, she didn't know. He probably tossed though; it was in his nature.

The movie was surprisingly funny, with most of the humor relying heavily upon sexual tension. They ate their food, laughing over some of the more ridiculous scenes. When the food was gone and the movie over, they took the dishes down to Kushina who waved them off with an amused smile.

Back in Naruto's room, they played a few games of Uno, Naruto trying to cheat and still losing. They were just cleaning up the cards when he spoke up. "May I ask you something, Sakura-chan?" The boy questioned, getting out the game Life, which he assured would be fun.

She glanced up from where he was putting in little buildings. "Of c-course, Naruto," she told him, helping separate all the money.

"Why do you wear your hair like that?" He held out the bag of cars at the same time. "And what color do you want?"

"Blue," she said, stalling for time. She really didn't want to have this conversation; not with anyone. She'd never opened up about her past with therapists. Not even Tsunade, who'd helped her back from the very edge of her suffering. But somehow, looking into Naruto's large, trusting eyes, she felt like she need desperately to get it off her chest. To tell _someone_.

He popped a little pink person into her blue car. He seemed, like her, to be waiting, allowing her to hesitate upon the answer. "College or no college?"

"C-College."

"Gimme back ten thousand from your starting money."

She handed over the yellow bill, and then sighed. "This isn't an e-easy subject."

"I understand," he told her seriously. "You don't have to tell me anything, Sakura-chan. We'll just play life, okay?"

"I—," she shook her head. "I want to tell you. N-Need to tell you."

He gently pushed aside the board and scooted forward, his expressive eyes focused on her. "Okay then, Sakura-chan."

She took a breath and said in a sort of rush, "when I was seven my mom killed herself." The boy stared at her for a moment, not seeming to register that. "In front of me. Actually," Sakura swallowed, throat dry, stutter gone in her haste to spit out the words. "She tried to kill me first."

He shook his head side to side. Naruto let his mouth open, forming words that weren't spoken aloud. Sakura plunged on.

"My dad had been seeing Hikari secretly, you know, and my brother had just gotten shot only months earlier. When he came to her with the divorce papers she just lost her mind."

Sakura shuddered, hand rising of its own accord to her shoulder, where the flesh was twisted by the scar that spoke of her survival. Naruto followed the movement, but still he didn't speak.

"I didn't know how to live. For such a long, long time my mother was all I had. Before that it was my brother and I. It was too much—I was too little." She stopped for a moment, unable to go on. Her next breath was trembling. "I wanted it to—to end. I di—didn't want to have to look at my father's **betrayal**."

Her voice broke, "I didn't want to look at my face. My mom's face."

Naruto's arms went around her, pulling her in close. He buried his face in her hair and she could feel the wetness of his tears. Somehow, the knowledge that sweet, vivacious Naruto was crying for her was too much. The girl sobbed, clinging tightly to the back of his shirt, fingers digging in.

"Its okay, Sakura," he told her thickly. He kissed the top of her head and pulled back, hands moving to her shoulders. There were tears on his tan cheeks, so out of place that it momentarily stopped her crying. She hiccupped softly as he parted her bangs, smiling down at her face. "You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen, Sakura-chan."

"No—no," she tried to tell him, choking endlessly on the words. "M-M-Mo—mother's f-face."

He shook his head, "no Sakura. This is _your_ face." He caught a tear and held it out for her to see. "These are your tears, your pain. Those are your eyes, your eyelashes; everything on this face belongs to Sakura and Sakura alone."

The air seized up in her lungs; chest tightening she stared up at him. Her lips pressed together until they were white. She couldn't speak the words; the hope in her so fragile that it might shatter this daydream.

"I mean it, Sakura," he continued, sensing her hesitation. "You may see your mother, but I see YOU. Only you."

He tucked her hair back behind her ears, smiling for her comfortingly. Her chin wobbled and, against her will, more tears streaked down her cheeks, falling into her lap.

"I've always known, you know," he said conversationally as she wallowed in the knowledge that someone had seen her for **her**.

Her voice was a croak, "known w-what?"

"That you were beautiful. I could sense it." He leaned back, surveying her from a distance.

She thought back to all the times he'd defended her looks from others. Sakura had never thought of herself as pretty, though she knew her mother was spectacular. She'd just been too cut off from her own reflection; too afraid of what was there to linger long in front of mirrors. Being told she was good-looking was a first.

"I know you're not ready, Sakura-chan, but you can't hide forever." He tilted his head to the side. He looked surprisingly like a puppy and she couldn't help but try to smile. "Being afraid of your reflection isn't good, nor is it healthy. You'll have to confront it one day."

"I kn-know," she agreed. It felt so good to cry; to finally have gotten this terrible, dark secret off her chest. It felt even better to know that Naruto would never betray her trust. That her secret would be eternally safe with him.

"Come on," he said, cheerily. "Let's play Final Fantasy Thirteen, okay?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes, mumbling, "what's that?"

Naruto winked. "You'll soon see!"

**-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-**

Sakura sighed as someone rolled onto her with a grunt. She took a moment, as she tried to wake up, to wonder when she and Naruto had crawled into bed. Last she could remember he was teaching her the complicated mechanics of Final Fantasy…Now they were under the big, white comforter on his bed. Naruto was clinging to her; arms and legs around her like he was some sort of animal clinging to its tree.

It really shouldn't have been, but the embrace was actually quite comfortable. Even if it was totally and utterly ridiculous looking. The girl yawned, leaning her head back against one of the numerous large, plush frogs in Naruto's bed. He'd mentioned that he shared a love for them with his father and grandfather, but this was a little much. Still, she couldn't blame him; there was still many toys she hadn't let go of.

Lightly, she pressed her fingers to his stomach, wiggling them around. He snorted in his sleep, hold tightening. "Tickles," he muttered. "Stop'pit."

She smiled and shifted around as much as his hold allowed, reaching his armpit. He squirmed violently as her fingers wiggled around.

"Gaara," he grunted, more awake now. "Knock—off."

Sakura raised her eyebrows at him. "Gaara?" Well that certainly explained a lot.

Blue eyes opened blearily and stared at Sakura's face without comprehension. Slowly, as he realized that he was actually looking at her face, and not her hair, and that he was wrapped around her like a monkey, he flushed and let go. "Sorry, Sakura-chan."

She smiled at him, "does Gaara often t-tickle you?"

The color increased to an alarming red. It went from his ears down his neck. Finally, his voice cracking embarrassingly, he managed, with much stiffness, "I don't know what you're speaking of, Sakura-chan."

"Really?"

"Really." He insisted. The color wasn't fading.

She rolled over, stealing away most of the blanket. "I t-think you do," she told him. She'd never teased anyone, and it was surprisingly fun. She wasn't as good at Temari though; be now, the girl would have wormed out some sort of humiliating confession from him.

Naruto yanked the blankets back. "I don't."

"I t-think you have a c-crush on Gaara." She rolled the blankets around herself like a burrito so they were harder to steal back.

"I most certainly do **not**!" Naruto flailed around. "I like girls—I like _boobs_—thank you very much."

Conversationally, she ignored him. "Gaara is very pleasant l-looking."

"I wouldn't know," he told her rudely. "**I** never look at him."

"S-Sure you do; all the time."

Naruto scowled, not amused. "Okay, yeah, I look at Gaara. But not how you're making it out!" For a moment he stared at her and she bit into her lip to keep from laughing. Finally he muttered something darkly and slipped back under the covers, close to her side. "Go back to sleep. It's only seven; I'm sleeping until noon at least."

Swallowing a giggle, Sakura closed her eyes, intent on finding a few more hours of shut eye. "As you s-say."

"Oh just be quiet," he grunted. When she peeked, his ears had gone red again. Satisfied that she could proficiently tease, Sakura went back to bed.

She awoke many hours later to Kushina lightly shaking them awake. "It's almost one Sakura. Your mom called to see when you were coming home, dear."

Groggily, the girl lifted her head from where it was stuffed against the pale yellow tummy of a frog. She blinked at Kushina's warm, lovely face and then shot up from the bed, yanking the blanket off Naruto, who groaned noisily.

"Oh no!" She looked at the woman in horror. Her father was undoubtedly furious by this point…Kushina put out a hand to halt her panic, her mouth turned up into a look of fond amusement.

"Calm down, Sakura, your mother assured me that your father had gone into a meeting and he won't be home until five." Kushina sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, moving his legs out of her way. The boy, trying to continue sleeping, grunted and rolled over to give her space. "We're going to get some food into you and then Naruto can drive you home. Alright?"

Sakura nodded again, relieved. "T-Thank you." She glanced down at Naruto, whose attempts to feign sleep weren't very convincing. Kushina reached over and squeezed Naruto's cheek, pulling it out. He grunted unhappily, his face comically lopsided.

"Mom," he grunted, flailing around until he could get his hands out from under the blankets to slap her hand away. She laughed and released him, patting his legs under the blankets.

"Get up, brat. I'll make pancakes."

Naruto, similar to Sakura's previous manner of "getting up", launched himself into a sitting position. His grin was huge and he all but bounced out of his bed. "Sweet! I'm up!"

Kushina fought a grin. "Wash your face, brush your teeth. Do you want bacon?"

"Bacon and eggs," Naruto corrected. He hurriedly gathered up the blanket he and Sakura had eaten on the night before, taking it to the laundry shoot and then coming back to drag Sakura into the bathroom. Kushina drifted back downstairs to the kitchen as they brushed their teeth in Naruto's bathroom.

It was very nicely decorated and surprisingly clean for Naruto, though his room had been cleaner than she'd expected, too. She correctly assumed Kushina was to thank for that, though. Kushina, like her own mother, stayed home and didn't work. Though Naruto had mentioned that she enjoyed to sew and occasionally would sell some of the stuffed animals she made. All of the large, fluffy frogs on his bed had been made by her for each of his birthdays growing up.

Naruto brushed his teeth in wide, sweeping circles, hurrying through it, wanting his pancakes. Sakura was going far slower; careful she was actually getting them clean as opposed to rushing. As she brushed, she mused about the night and now their time together in the morning. She'd always considered Naruto to be something like a family member as their friendship deepened, but for the first time, it really, honestly felt like she'd found her brother again.

At times, Naruto did seem to stir up memories she'd buried deep inside herself of a time that she'd lost years ago. Of a brother she could hardly even remember.

Sakura watched as he gargled with mouth wash, cleaning up her brush and stowing it back away in her small overnight bag. She wondered how Naruto would react if she told him; probably with joy. The thought made her smile and she followed him back to the kitchen, the house somehow easier to navigate now.

The teens seated themselves at the breakfast nook, watching Kushina scramble up eggs, a pan of bacon and pop blueberries down onto the top of the pancake batter as the bottom half cooked. The afternoon sun slanted in through the ceiling-to-floor windows that the table was placed beside. Even through the pretty dark blue curtains the room was warm and Naruto lay his head down on the table, face towards that lingering warmth.

Sakura got up to get the plates when his mother asked, since he seemed to have dozed off again. She set the table for the three of them, placing Naruto's in front of him quietly. Kushina smiled as she brought the large platter of food to the center of the table. "Get some juice from the fridge, would you Sakura? Naruto will want orange juice, but you're welcome to whatever. Naruto, get up—it's time to eat."

Sakura searched around in the huge fridge, retrieving a glass of homemade juice from it as well as the maple syrup that Naruto requested when he'd sat up to eat.

She carried them back to the table, handing the syrup to Naruto and setting the pitcher down, careful not to break the fragile glass. It was the kind of delicate glasswork that Hikari kept in the wood cabinet to look at, but not to use. She supposed, though, that Kushina had money enough to replace it should one break.

The girl buttered up the pancakes Kushina passed her way, taking a scoop of eggs and two slices of bacon. She let Naruto pour a healthy (well, probably too much to actually be healthy) serving of syrup over her food. As she ate, listening to Naruto talk about school with his mother and how Gaara was doing, she mused about what would happen Sunday.

She'd been putting off thoughts of visiting Orochimaru's wife, but it was harder to now that Saturday was half over and there was less than twenty four hours until she'd be face-to-face with the mystery woman. Sakura considered mentioning it to Kushina, in case the women were on speaking terms, but decided against it.

Konan would surely tell her anything she needed to know tomorrow on the drive, and she'd just have to be calm until then. There was no way her friends would let her go to dine with a mad woman. Sakura scratched her cheek absently and then froze, finally remembering that she'd allowed Naruto to pin back her hair the night before when they'd been playing games.

It was still back, out of her eyes for once so that she could actually see the things around her clearly. It was the first time, in a very, very long time, that her hair had been up for more than a few minutes. She swallowed down panic, wondering what people were seeing—was it as horrible as she imagined?

But then she remembered that neither Naruto nor his mother had ever met, or come into contact, with her mother and on top of that, Naruto had told her he saw HER. Besides, Kushina wasn't commenting at all on finally seeing Sakura's face; taking it all in an easy stride.

Sakura unclenched the death grip she had on her fork and went back to eating her breakfast; glad neither of the Uzumaki's had noticed her momentary blind panic. They meant a lot to her, and she didn't want to make Naruto worry any more than she already had. She owed him too much as it were.

After breakfast the teens helped Kushina do the dishes and then went upstairs to get changed out of their pajamas. Sakura had carefully folded up the dress Konan bought her, wondering as she packed it away, where she would ever wear such a fine thing to. It seemed such a waste to only wear it once. If she was lucky, Konan might let her recycle it for the Valentine's performance, but somehow she doubted that would fly.

Kushina wished her a warm goodbye and they embraced as she and Naruto headed out the door. The woman made it very clear that she'd enjoyed Sakura's company and expressed the desire for her to come over again sometime. Sakura didn't mention that it was amazing her father had let her come over in the first place.

Mrs. Uzumaki loaded them into the car, her face serious. "Drive carefully, Naruto," she warned the boy. It was her car he was taking, since he still didn't have one of his own. That would only come when he actually got his full license. "No tickets."

"No tickets, mom," he promised, saluting her with two fingers. "I'll be on my best behavior."

Kushina sighed, tucking her bangs behind her ear she smiled at Sakura, who was once again safely behind the curtain of her hair. "Come back to see us again soon, Sakura. We enjoyed having you."

"Thank you. I h-had a wonderful time."

The woman smiled brightly, patting Sakura's head gently. She straightened up, giving Naruto one last stern look before she headed back inside. Naruto waited until she was in before he eased out of his long driveway, watching the traffic. It reminded her of the afternoon they'd skipped school and gone to see a movie.

She smiled as he drove, far more carefully than anyone else she'd gotten a ride from. Though she'd always pegged Naruto as being a reckless driver, he was actually far from it and very conscious of the road and cars around him. Almost, at times, too cautious. He drove like a little old woman; ten miles under the speed limit, muttering about idiots under his breath.

But it gave them time to talk and talking was Naruto's favorite past time. "So mom said you're gonna be performing with the band at the Valentine's party." He pouted, "I wanted you to dance with me."

Sakura smiled a little, that teasing gleam back in her eyes. "W-Why don't you a-ask Gaara?"

"Oooh," Naruto muttered. He shot her a look before he answered that. "Don't even get started, Sakura-chan."

"S-Started on what?"

The boy rubbed his cheek, where the usual whisker marks were absent. He'd been too lazy to draw them on like normal and he looked odd without them. "You know very well what," he told her, tone chastising. He sounded like his mother. "It's not nice."

Sakura coughed into her hand to disguise her laugh. "T-Tayuya doesn't have a-anyone," the girl recalled, thinking back to her most recent conversation. The red-haired girl had been hoping to ditch the dance, but Orochimaru insisted she go; to keep an eye on her family's movements. She wasn't pleased. "You s-should ask her."

Naruto grimaced, "she'd bite my head off, Sakura."

"F-Fine," the pink-haired girl decided. "I'll mention it t-to her. If she w-won't, keep others in mind."

The boy sighed. "You're just trying to get me murdered, aren't you? But I guess if I have to."

"She's v-very nice," Sakura assured him. Though she did have a foul mouth that ran off at the worst of times, Tayuya WAS loyal and had moments where she was almost sweet. And it was hard not to enjoy spending time with Naruto; he brought out the best in people, no matter how hard they tried to resist his pull.

Naruto rolled his eyes at that statement. He turned the car down her street and headed to Sakura's cozy house. "I'll see you next week, okay Sakura? And don't yell at me Thursday, all right?"

Sakura wracked her brains to remember what Thursday was. February 14th. Valentine's Day. Before she could protest vehemently, her mother was coming onto the porch to await her arrival and Naruto was shifting the car into reverse.

She gave him a look of evil, to get her feelings about this particular holiday across, but he was beaming brightly past her head and she gave up with a huff.

"Bye, bye Sakura-chan!"

"J-Jerk."

Naruto winked and drove away, his hand doing a casual backwards wave as he drove down the street. Sakura hitched her bag up high on her shoulder and stomped into the house, unhappy with how he'd wormed out of punishment. But only this time.

Hikari welcomed her inside. "Did you have fun, darling?"

"Loads." Sakura told her honestly. "The play w-was lovely."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Did you eat, or are you hungry?"

The girl went into her room to hang up the dress and put her pajamas into the laundry bin. Hikari followed her into the room, taking the dress and going into Sakura's closet to hang it up. The woman took a moment to zip it back up into the bag it'd come with, to make sure it kept nice and clean.

"W-We had pancakes."

"Okay," her mother said, coming back out. She bent to kiss Sakura's forehead on her way out of the room. "I'm preparing for dinner, so you just rest and get some homework done, ne?"

"Okay." Sakura bobbed her head up and down. She glanced over at the blank canvas on her easel and then to her desk, where all the backlog of work sat. She wanted to draw, but she really, really didn't want to fail. Hikari's footsteps faded down the stairs as Sakura took a seat at her desk, separating the piles of work as she decided what she wanted to start with.

She opened up her science book, snapping her mechanical pencil a few times to get the lead going and started working. She paused, just a few problems in, however and grabbed up the purse she'd taken to the play, fishing around for her cell phone. Surpisingly there weren't many missed texts.

She sent one off to Tayuya, asking simply if the girl had found a date to the dance yet and then checked over the others. Mostly from Sasuke, confirming that Kahoko was expecting her around noon and making sure that Konan was still giving her a ride. Sakura answered both and then got back to her science.

It was harder now that her mind was back on that tantalizing thought; what was Orochimaru's wife like? The question was giving her such a headache. The girl scowled down at her work, finding that she'd started doodling a woman without a face onto her homework.

Sakura determinedly turned off her phone, settling herself into the knowledge that she'd just have to wait to find out if Tayuya had a date. She needed to _work_. The music teacher could only keep her in the band if she had at least C-average grades and some were slipping down close to D's with all the work she'd been missing.

It was a far cry from the A's she'd been getting previously. If she didn't get her act together she could lose more than just her place in the band; any failing grades would mean she lost her scholarship and she didn't even want to think about how her father would react if she had to start going to the public school nearby.

That would be an ugly talk, for sure. So the girl buried her head in her books and told herself Sunday would come soon. And that would just have to be enough.

* * *

Okay, we're done! I apologize for this chapter taking so very long; I never anticipated such a long period to go by between chapters. I just got really caught up in school and work and I wasn't feeling very into writing with all that had been happening. But you guys didn't give up on pestering me and it finally got me writing.

Thanks to MoonVeil for taking time out of her busy schedule to let me come over and borrow her computer. You're a diamond, love, and I couldn't do it without you.

Kahoko finally appears! Who's excited? I love how many of you reacted to Orochimaru having a wife, over all the other drama in the last chapter, lol!

Shout outs: **MelodysFall** (you get a shout out because you're absolutely hilarious, my dear! I actually work in a coffee shop as a Barista. Not the most glamorous job, I admit. Thank you for the pocky! Have some in return!) — **Sakura4eva** (I think we all had a period like that, lol. I think you're rooting for all the actual pairings, too xD nice job!) — **MizuBenten** (I loveloveloveloveloooove you. This could go on forever, I swear) — **Sachiko Haruki** (I do believe you just won the award for the longest, funniest review ever. Evar. :heart:)

Alright, that's that people. Remember to review. Somehow I feel less funny than usual…Damnation.

P.S. About my weird line-break things. FF is all of a sudden being really PMS-y with stars and such, and I needed _something_ to separate parts, so there you have it. Sorry. D:


	13. Meeting the Wife

Blue Romance

Disclaimer: All rights go to Kishimoto.

Chapter Thirteen: Meeting the Wife

**A/N:** This was supposed to be released on the fourteenth—my birthday gift to myself—but then MoonVeil's computer swallowed the chapter and we've wasted a lot of work time trying to get it back. So enjoy this late release!

MoonVeil: I hate Vista. I hate it.

Indeed, my dear.

* * *

Konan laughed. Sakura was silent, pale and unable to respond.

"Oh, Sakura, its fine I promise." The blue-haired teen paused at a red light, sending Sakura an amused, loving smile. The smaller girl couldn't return it. "Kahoko is a very nice person. Warm, giving; she's just nice to be around, really."

Adjectives that should—and really could—never be used to describe Orochimaru in any way, shape or form. And putting something **with** those adjectives near him was just as weird. The girl tugged at the sleeve of the blue sweater Temari and Shikamaru had given her the week before. The day was chilly and Konan had mentioned it would be a perfect time to wear the gift.

She had to admit that it suited her well; fitting snugly to her slim form and enhancing the color of her hair and not clashing like she'd anticipated. She'd matched the sweater with a pair of white flats and a pair of dark jeans. Somehow she still felt underdressed sitting next to Konan's immaculately.

"I—I don't even k-know anything about her," Sakura whimpered. Each light brought them closer to the unknown and farther from the safety of the city. Orochimaru lived in the wealthiest neighborhood in Konohagakure; where every huge, sprawling mansion had its own personal drive and a few acres of land. This, too, didn't suit his image.

"What would you like to know?"

Sakura considered the question seriously. She thought back to the things that had been most nagging at the back of her noggin. "H-How old is she?"

"She'll be turning twenty this year." Sakura goggled at her in shock and Konan added, "Orochimaru is nearly thirty seven, I believe."

"Isn't…that a l-little old?" she asked, voice strangled. That was a BIG age difference!

The older teen suddenly tilted her head in though, "tell me something, Sakura. How much exactly has Sasuke told you about Kahoko and Orochimaru?"

"Nothing."

The girl rolled her eyes. "No wonder you're so worried. Well, I suppose I should do some explaining."

Konan turned off the main, three-lane road, taking a smaller two lane. The buildings had suddenly thinned out and were disappearing entirely. Soon they were coming upon private, fenced off land and large houses that seemed to have come directly out of the past. Occasionally Sakura would see a house with a barn for horses or cows, but most seemed to be dominated simple by the house and drive.

"Kahoko and Orochimaru didn't marry for love," Konan's musical voice brought her back out of her cow-stare at the houses. She turned to the girl in surprise. "It was a match decided by her parents—similar to Itachi and Ino, it was to join forces; to bring their companies together. When they approached Orochimaru with the deal, he could hardly refuse. Her family makes a powerful ally and refusing could have started a company-war."

"So," Sakura hesitated. It seemed so horrible a thing for someone's parents to do; to marry their daughter off to a man seventeen years older than she was…And on top of that someone like _Orochimaru_.

"So," the teen picked back up, "they married shortly after Kahoko turned eighteen and they've been together ever since. But—," she smiled in amusement, "—Kahoko was very much not what anyone was expecting."

Sakura's brow wrinkled. "What d-do you mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough." Konan smiled down at her, taking a turn down a smaller, private road.

The land was gorgeous; sprawling green grass and tall, sweeping trees. About a mile ahead a house could be seen; it was old-fashioned and lovely. The building was at least three stories tall; a porch wrapped around the first level and white beams braced up the second story's deck.

It was somehow cozy, despite its impressive size. There was a circular driveway that stopped in front of the house, but also branched off to a ridiculously oversized garage. The lawn was filled with pretty plants that had obviously been professionally planted; no one else could have such perfect placement on where things should go.

As Konan stopped the car before the house, a girl came out to greet them, smiling broadly. She was very small and startlingly beautiful. Her hair was very long, coming down to her waist in gentle waves—her face was heart-shaped and set with delicate, small features. She was slender and moved with the hesitant steps of someone who had a tendency towards clumsiness and didn't pay much attention to her feet.

But, when she stopped outside the car to wait, Sakura saw her best feature to be her eyes; they were a very dark shade of brown that neared black. They were warm and gentle, and somehow made the fear Sakura had felt previous disappear with only one look.

"I'm so glad you made it, Konan." The girl said as they got out of the car. She didn't have the same musical kind of voice as Konan, but it was soft and lulling. The safe feeling in Sakura's chest strengthened and she didn't hesitate to follow Konan's lead towards the girl.

"Hello, Kahoko. You're looking nice."

The brown-haired woman laughed softly. "Thank you, dear. It's been too long since you last came to visit."

Konan laughed with her, as much at ease as Sakura. "You live in the boondocks; come to the city."

The girl made a face at that. "You sound like Sasuke saying that. Always complaining—you all could use the fresh air."

They were interrupted by the front door opening, a large dog rushed out, barking like crazy as he nearly knocked Kahoko down in his haste to get in the middle of their talking. It was Kabuto standing in the doorway, the glare of his glasses blocking out his eyes. He smirked at them.

"Ladybug, hush," Kahoko told the wiggling dog. He licked her hands frantically, not calming down. He did stop barking, though and the girl frowned at Kabuto. "If you've come to complain about lunch, Kabuto, you'll just have to wait."

"Complain? Me?" The white-haired boy shook his head, "not I."

Sakura watched their interaction, surprised, somehow. The last time she'd seen Kabuto, he'd been like an ice cube; not only that, but he'd scared her just by looking at him. But now, in the presence of the girl before them, he seemed to have thawed out some. It was making her wonder if this was what Konan had meant earlier.

The girl got the dog to sit at last, ignoring it when it looked up at her with huge, adoring eyes. "I'll be making lunch soon, okay? Tell Orochimaru not to complain—if he's too hungry to wait, he can make himself something."

Kabuto snorted, "yes ma'am." The screen door shut with a tap behind him.

"Men," Konan said in disgust.

Kahoko laughed, shaking her head. "My dear, you're much too young to be saying things like that. Now," she turned her intense eyes on Sakura and the girl took a nervous swallow. There were little crinkles around her eyes when she beamed. "You must be Sakura. It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

Sakura blushed when the girl gently folded her into a hug. Though Sakura was barely five three, Kahoko had to be at least an inch if not two smaller. She seemed somehow delicate and Sakura was careful when she tried to embrace the girl back. She really wasn't used to hugs, though; the only person who ever gave them to her was Naruto and he didn't care if you hugged him back or not.

The woman pulled back and studied Sakura's face though the layer of hair between them. Whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her; she smiled more brightly and released Sakura.

"Shall we go inside? I'm boiling water for our tea. I've also got some cakes baking and I can make sandwiches if you're hungry?"

Sakura nodded dumbly. It'd been a few hours since she'd eaten breakfast and she got the feeling that Kahoko was a master chef, despite the fact she could have easily paid someone to cook for her.

The girl looked at Konan. "You won't stay to join us?"

Konan sighed lightly, "I wish I could. There's another meeting, though, and Itachi needs me there."

"It'll be over soon," the woman told Konan comfortingly. She spoke with experience and Sakura knew she was referencing back to her own engagement. "Just wait until the wedding! That'll make all these meetings look like nothing."

"Ugh," Konan groaned unhappily. That was obviously something she _didn't_ want to think about. "I'll see you later, Sakura. Have fun, okay?"

Sakura yanked her head up and down, feeling like a mute puppet on loose threads. The teen waved to them as she went back to the car, revving it up before she took off back down the drive.

"Ah," Kahoko sighed. Her tiny little fingers were threading through the dog's fur. It sat loyally at her feet, eyes on her and her alone. It was odd; Sakura had never seen such a devoted dog. The woman followed her eyes and smiled slightly. "This is Ladybug; we rescued her when she was about two."

Sakura hesitated and then, at the woman's nod, pet the dog's head awkwardly. It turned towards her, tail thumping the ground like a huge dust buster. Smiling shyly, the teen scratched its ear, rewarded when the thumping increased in pace.

"She likes you." Kahoko watched Sakura closely. "Ladybug has excellent taste in people."

"Um, I—t-that is—don't m-mean to be rude…"

"Yes?"

"W-Why is her n-name—?"

"Ladybug?" The woman giggled a little. "When we rescued her, she'd been named Lady previously. It sort of became a nickname to call her Ladybug and then, before I knew it, she wouldn't come to Lady most of the time. Orochimaru despises it."

Sakura blinked.

"It's good punishment for him naming the cat, "Cat"." She rolled her eyes at the idiocy. "Honestly, he could have called him anything and Cat was the best he could manage."

Somehow, put like that, Orochimaru reminded Sakura of Naruto alarmingly. Naruto had mentioned previously that he got along with the man, but she didn't think they'd be similar in this way.

"Well, shall we go inside? I should check on the cake."

Sakura nodded and followed the woman and dog up the stairs and into the charming house. Inside it smelled wonderfully of fresh cake and the faint aroma of lavender. Kahoko headed down the hall towards the strengthening smell of food, leading Sakura into a large, clean kitchen. Its wide marble countertops gleamed and the new, expensive appliances looked as though they had just been installed. It was the kind of kitchen people dreamed about having, but could never afford.

The woman popped on a baking glove on and pulled out a long glass baking pan. She poked a toothpick into its center and inspected it for a moment. "Done!" The girl lugged out the pan and tapped the oven shut with her hip. She walked the cake to a baking rack and carefully began the process of tumping the cake onto it, upside down.

Brown eyes drifted up, spotting Sakura standing like an odd log in the entrance to the kitchen. The woman smiled briefly, "please sit, won't you?"

Sakura nodded jerkily and moved to sit on one of the stools at the island counter. She watched Kahoko clean up the mess she'd made and started to whip up a topping for the cake. It was fascinating, sitting here, staring at this person she'd so wrongly imagined. The woman was everything Orochimaru was not—her aura radiated softness and it put Sakura at ease.

She couldn't understand someone as gentle as this could **survive** around someone as crushingly dark as Orochimaru. It really didn't add up; the pieces weren't meant to match one another and forcing them was absurd.

"So, Sakura, I heard you play the piano." Sakura blinked from her daze. Kahoko was leaning on the counter across from her, watching Sakura with equal curiosity. "Sasuke says you're quite good."

"W-What?"

Kahoko tilted her head, pursing her mouth. "That surprises you?" Her lips curved into a secretive look of amusement. "Sasuke speaks of you often."

Sakura mulled on that for a moment, feeling embarrassed. But not as much as she would have imagined; somehow the deep, warm brown of Kahoko's eyes made her feel as though she could trust the woman with any and all of her secrets. She understood why this woman was the one person Sasuke confided in.

The girl reached out to pat Sakura's hand. The smell of lavender and spring blossoms fell lightly over the girl and she relaxed immediately. It was simple impossible to be stiff around Kahoko.

"Would you like sugar in your tea?"

Sakura was grateful the woman had changed the subject. Though she was finding it harder to hate Sasuke (though he was still a massive turd as far as she was concerned!) it wasn't an easy subject to broach. She didn't understand the way Sasuke felt towards her, nor the way she felt about him.

"No thank you," she mumbled. Her stutter was barely pronounced. She was too at-ease in this wonderful place that seemed to have a magic centered on Orochimaru's odd wife.

Kahoko came with a teapot made of delicate, ornate china. Pale blue flowers circled the belly of the pot and green vines slithered out like searching hands. The girl slipped a tea cover over the pot; it was handmade and lime green. Somehow, without having to ask, Sakura knew Kahoko had knitted it herself.

The tea cups she presented matched the pot; Sakura was careful when she picked up her steaming cup of tea. Kahoko took a moment to load her cup with a hearty portion of sugar and milk. When she took her first sip, she beamed across the table at Sakura, looking very young and sweet.

"So," the woman began, setting down her cup. "There is much I want to speak to you about, Sakura."

Sakura hurriedly placed her cup back onto its saucer. "Y-Yes?"

"I know that your past with Sasuke is not what it could have been." Kahoko sighed when Sakura winced; the memory of her first meeting with Sasuke playing cruelly in her mind. "But don't give up on him. He needs you—especially now."

"W-What—what do you m-mean?"

The woman licked her lips and leaned forward close. Her eyes had gone totally black; they were intense, full of a fire that felt like it was licking at Sakura's face. She could scarcely breathe.

"Your ignorance keeps you safe, Sakura. For now. But things are moving; things neither you nor I can stop. Things that have been in motion for many, many years."

A chill slid down the pink-haired girl's spine. She remained motionless, made captive by Kahoko's gaze.

"I trust you—Sasuke, Konan, Itachi…these people believe in you, and I believe in them. You have the potential to protect Sasuke from the truth." The woman's eyes creased in pain. "For the truth is sometimes far more painful than lies."

All at once Sakura understood: Kahoko was offering her information. She was offering a look inside, at the carefully wound secrets. At the things that Orochimaru—in his underground world of thugs and liars—had found.

"Listen to me, Sakura. This may not make sense to you now, but one day, hopefully not soon, it will. The Uchiha family is a lie. Itachi's past—Sasuke's past—they are all lies. Do not believe what you hear."

Sakura took a shaking breath. She dug her fingers into her palm and forced herself to remain calm. She'd been wanting _someone_ to tell her the truth; had been unhappy that she was still not trusted with secrets. She knew, from the brief snippets of conversation she'd caught around Temari and Kankuro, that whatever Itachi had done in his youth, it involved Gaara.

It was the **reason** Gaara was always gone. Why he was rarely at home. It was a part of the secret to Deidara and Ino's troubled past. And Kahoko had trusted her with it all—had believed in Sakura without hesitation.

"Thank you," Sakura breathed, feeling the constriction in her throat that meant tears weren't far off. It felt so _good_ to know that someone trusted her. To know that someone thought she could be of use.

The black faded back into brown and Kahoko sagged back into her seat, looking older and weary. "Forgive me for involving you Sakura. It is selfish and cruel of me…" she murmured softly, "but I will do whatever I must to make sure that Sasuke is safe."

The girl looked up again, rubbing away her tears. One of the woman's slim fingers was tracing the rim of her tea cup. She looked very small and forlorn.

"I feel, sometimes, as though Sasuke is my son. Though he's nearly my age, I often feel more like an old woman." Kahoko laughed softly, "I cannot help but do my best to shelter him from reality. I indulge him, really. We all do—Orochimaru, Itachi, Kabuto. He's just a child."

"Itachi d-does?"

"Why do you think he's marrying Ino?" The woman frowned. "Originally it was Ino and Sasuke who were engaged—the marriage was very nearly finalized. But complications arose and the marriage fell through. Inoichi was furious; he refused to let go of a deal with the Uchiha company. So Itachi stepped forward to allow Sasuke his freedom, and to save the family business."

"I—I," Sakura tried, unable to speak. Konan had always implied that Sasuke meant a great deal to his brother, but to sacrifice his own love life for Sasuke was incredible.

The sliding door to the kitchen opened and without warning, Orochimaru; tall, dark and creepy, swept in. Sakura went rigid instantly. Kahoko, on the other hand, sprung up, smiling widely.

"Darling, come to whine for your lunch?"

The man snorted, his hand stretching out to her. He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, kissing her like the lead in a romantic movie might. Sakura's jaw dropped at she gaped at them, brain stuttering in shock.

"I don't whine," he murmured in his predator purr. When one of Kahoko's slim, delicate eyebrows rose, he frowned at her.

"They're ready," she winked at him playfully and darted out from the circle of his arms. He almost pouted—somewhere, in the dim corners of her mind, Sakura was reeling over a _pout_. She'd never imagined Orochimaru could even **sort of** have that kind of expression. It was unfathomable.

"Good," Orochimaru muttered. "We've been waiting forever." Gold eyes slid over to Sakura and he walked over, taking Kahoko's vacated seat. He picked up the woman's cup of tea and began to drink it, ignoring her outraged cry. "Hello, Sakura. Good to see you again,"

"Ah," the girl said intelligently.

He smiled darkly at her. Like the last time she'd been in his presence, he had the feel of danger wrapped around him like a thick cloud. She could almost picture the blood on his hands; the dangerous, evil look in his eyes as he watched his enemies die at his feet. It was absolutely terrifying and not even Kahoko's magical powers could fix that.

"I hear you've been having problems at school. Anything you'd like help with?"

Sakura opened her mouth in horror, but Kahoko beat him to it. "Orochimaru, you're scaring her. We are **not** talking about hits at the table. We've been over this."

There was a definite sulk to Orochimaru now; like a scolded child he set his lips out into an unhappy pout. His foot started to kick lightly against the island counter. "Fine," he said, "what _can_ we talk about?"

"Sakura and I were discussing what a talented piano player she is."

Orochimaru shot her a skeptical look, but didn't question it. "So I've heard; from both Kabuto and Sasuke. I still have yet to hear. You should play this afternoon."

"Oh yes!" Kahoko cried. She was chopping something green at incredible speeds. Sakura'd only ever seen skill like that on the Food Network channel. "We have a grand piano in the living room."

The evil overlord looked impressed with his work. "I wish I could stay to watch, but Kabuto and I have some errands to run in the city tonight. We're leaving after lunch."

The sound of chopping stopped. Sakura watched something pass between the couple; the man, looking confident and assured, the woman quietly fearful. It must have been hard for Kahoko, to watch him leave, knowing he was going up against people who desired his death. For the first time, thinking back to the woman's words, she wondered if Gaara was going through that sort of thing, too.

It was no wonder that Naruto always seemed so relieved to hear Gaara had come home safely. Though she was beginning to suspect this was also due to the blonde's intense crush on the Suna leader (unfortunately she still had yet to find proof).

Kahoko picked up moments later and the soft noise of knife hitting chopping board resumed. "Be careful," she told him.

"I will."

"Don't be reckless."

He snorted, "never am."

"Come back." She said firmly, "I'll have leftovers for you in the fridge."

"Stop worrying; you're going to go gray." He rolled his eyes and smiled at Sakura.

"Just you wait, Orochimaru," Kahoko said darkly. She was grilling up long pieces of chicken on the stove top and fixing up a large salad. "I'm going to fill this house with children—tons of them—and then we'll see who goes gray!"

Orochimaru had gone very pale. "You will do no such thing." He hissed, though it didn't carry real anger. He seemed almost afraid of her statement. "I won't stand for it."

"Humph." The girl flipped the chicken; it was perfectly grilled and the smell was intoxicating. "Afraid of children."

"I am not _afraid_," he disagreed. "I just don't like them."

Sakura took a gulp of tea to hide her smile. She'd never, ever—in a million years—expected that this would be what she found upon her visit. Kahoko made Orochimaru seem human. He needed her, whether he realized it or not.

It reminded her of Kahoko's previous statement; made her wonder if the girl was hoping she would be Sasuke's reason for being good. Could she really affect someone on that kind of a level? It seemed impossible…

"Oh, by the way," Orochimaru said as though recalling something. "Suigetsu and Tayuya will be on guard duty tonight, so you'll be safe while I'm gone."

Kahoko frowned at him. She was slicing the chicken into strips and putting it onto bread already loaded with tomatoes, mayonnaise and lettuce. One had mustard, but the rest didn't. "That's really unnecessary, Orochimaru. I'm perfectly safe."

"So you think," he argued. "But I don't. I won't allow you to be hurt, Kahoko. Don't fight me on this one."

There was something in the way his voice dipped, when he spoke of Kahoko being injured, that made Sakura shake in fear. She could almost feel it; the towering, impossible rage he would feel if he lost her. If she were hurt.

And she felt a stab of real sympathy for whoever hurt the woman. Because, looking into the man's cold, hard eyes, she knew that he would dismember them slowly. They would surely suffer for it. Though he sat here now, relaxed and playful, the darkness lurked in him and she was the key to it. He would be a monster without her.

It was both wonderful and terrible, their love for each other.

Kahoko finished up the meal she'd made and got out a couple of plates from one of the cupboards. "Go get Kabuto, darling. It's time to eat."

Orochimaru scowled at the fact that she'd changed the subject, but left to find the boy. The woman sighed and joined Sakura at the island again. "Men are so foolish when they have something to protect. Remember that."

Sakura nodded.

**oOo**

Sakura played a few of her favorite Chopin tunes before switching to Schumann and back again. While she played the piano, Kahoko sat in a large, plush armchair, knitting tirelessly. She was making a blanket out of a soft colored material. It was large and very lovely; from the look of it, it was sure to be warm as well.

Shortly after lunch, which had been delicious, Orochimaru and Kabuto had left, replaced in minutes by Tayuya, who looked tired. The girl had been on night duty and hadn't gotten much sleep before she'd been put back on guard duty again. At Kahoko's endless insistence, she'd finally curled up in another armchair and dozed off to the gentle lull of Sakura's playing.

As always, the melody came out mournful and heavy. But Kahoko never complained about the music being depressing and Sakura was able to carry on. It felt very nice; homey and comfortable.

The girl was still waiting for Temari's text to alert her to get ready to leave—until then; she found that she would not at all mind continuing on. As she reached a slower part of the song she'd been playing, she let her eyes drift to Tayuya, her hands moving without hesitation on their own. The red-haired teen looked very tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and there seemed to be a permanent crease between her brows.

It made her wonder what Orochimaru was so worried about that he pushed his underlings to such an extent. She also wondered if it had anything to do with what Kahoko had said about the Uchiha clan. Sakura hit the next few keys a little hard as she pondered, in annoyance, the new mystery set before her. She _hated_ mysteries.

Kahoko glanced up, smiling a little before she returned her eyes to her knitting. "Something the matter Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl looked up sharply. Her fingers slipped and hit the wrong notes, making an unpleasant noise chime out. She went very pink and hurriedly corrected her fingers over the piano, beginning where she'd left off.

"No. I'm f-fine."

The woman cast her a knowing look, but didn't push it. Tayuya, who'd been woken from her nap by the noise, was sitting up. She yawned hugely, groaning when her jaw cracked. "Kahoko-dono you got any fucking food around?"

"What would you like?" She set aside her knitting. She didn't say anything about Tayuya's foul mouth; she didn't even blink.

Tayuya considered the question. "Anything is fine, with a preference to something cheesy."

Orochimaru's wife laughed, "something cheesy it is."

The girl had waited until she was gone from the room before she looked at Sakura. "Enjoying yourself, huh?"

"Y-Yes."

"That's good." Tayuya settled back in the chair, rubbing a hand lightly over her dark eyelids. The movement was sluggish and though she was fighting to stay awake, Sakura could see her body fighting her every step of the way.

"Tayuya," Sakura began slowly; hesitantly. The other teen opened her eyes, eyebrows raised. "You d-don't have to answer, but d-does your being o-out last night have anything to do w-with Sasuke?"

"With those bastards the Uchiha, you mean." The girl smirked at her, but it was as tired as all her other expressions. "Yeah. It does." Tayuya appraised her for a moment. "Are you sure you really want to know, though? Once you're in it's impossible to get back out."

"I would l-like to know as m-much as you can tell me."

"Very well," Tayuya sat up reluctantly. "We're keeping an eye out for someone who should be dead, but is very much alive and causing trouble. He keeps coming back to Konohagakure, but we're not sure why." The girl frowned very slightly, "I'm sure you've heard that Gaara is away often, on business?"

Sakura nodded. Her heart felt as though it was going to burst free of her chest. She ignored the tight, nervous feeling and made herself pay close attention.

"That business is connected directly to Itachi—and to the Uchiha family as well, I suppose. It's all really fucking complicated."

"T-This man…is he d-dangerous?"

"Not to someone like you—not yet, at least—for now, the only real people in danger is the Uchiha council. Well, everyone but Sasuke-sama."

"Not S-Sasuke?"

"Yes. Only Sasuke-sama is protected against him," Tayuya said. "I can't tell you any of the stupid details on why, only that it has something to do with that prick Itachi." She flicked her hair back, settling into the armchair and closing her eyes again. "No doubt, with your luck, you'll know the whole story soon enough."

Forced to be satisfied with what she'd gotten, Sakura nodded and resumed her playing. She put her frustration into each tapping of the keys and the noise emitted was melodious, mournful and a little irritated. Kahoko wandered back in, smiling fondly at Sakura's obvious discomfort and taking the tray in her hands to Tayuya, who looked refreshed at the delicious smell wafting off the food.

Kahoko had boiled up some noodles and made a thick, creamy sauce for them; she'd also brought a large bottle of soda. Tayuya took a huge gulp from the bottle. The sugar and caffeine settled quickly into the teen's system and she took the tray, settling it in her lap. Kahoko went back to her own chair, picking up her knitting as Tayuya dug into her food.

The red-haired girl polished off the food and soda in record time, looking very much refreshed. There was still the lingering tell-tale darkness around her eyes, but she seemed as though she wouldn't fall back asleep at any moment.

"Hey, Sakura."

The girl stopped playing, looking up in surprise. "Y-Yes?"

"Have you met Suigetsu before?"

She thought for a moment, "does he h-have white hair?"

Tayuya snorted. "That's him. Pointy, retarded looking teeth, too. Fucking dumbass." Sakura was just wondering why she'd brought the boy up, her only thought being that Orochimaru had mentioned he would also be on guard duty… "He's going to marry my sister, you know," Tayuya remarked in an oddly quiet voice.

Sakura looked up sharply. There was something…very _off_ in Tayuya's tone. Something she'd never, ever heard before. She couldn't understand it at all.

Kahoko looked up in worry, her face taut with unease. Sakura took that in, too, feeling lost. Something was going on her that she didn't understand. More mystery, she internally sighed.

"But whatever, she can marry him. What a pair of fucktards they'll make. A bitch, and a dumbass."

"Tayuya," Kahoko murmured, trying to sound admonishing but coming off sad. Tayuya rolled her shoulders like she was preparing herself for a boxing match. She cleaned up her tray and stood.

"I'll take these things to the kitchen."

The brown-haired woman bit her lip, "dear…"

"Don't worry, Kahoko-dono. I'm fine." But that dark look was back and Sakura realized something; understanding clunking into place in her brain. She stood numbly and followed Tayuya into the kitchen, Kahoko watched them go, shoulders drooping as she took back up her knitting.

"You didn't have to come with me," Tayuya remarked. She was washing off her dishes in the sink. The sink she worked in was bright silver, large and as immaculate as everything else.

"Tayuya," Sakura began carefully. She highly valued and enjoyed her friendship with the teen and didn't want to make a mistake her and ruin it all. "Do you…h-have feelings for…?"

The girl froze, holding out a dish towards the open dishwasher. She forced herself to keep moving, placing it in with the others. "Picked up on that, huh?" She laughed without humor. "Suppose I must be see-through at this rate. Kahoko-dono's always fucking worrying about it."

Sakura opened her mouth, but closed it. Tayuya shut the dishwasher with a snap when she'd loaded up all her dirty dishes. She didn't face Sakura, instead she kept her eyes firmly on the window over the sink. From it, there was a splendid view of Orochimaru's sprawling land. Her hands curled around the marble countertop.

"Yes. I like Suigetsu, have since I was little. So goddamned stupid, I know," she clenched her teeth, but didn't stop. "And then of course the engagement went to Karin. Perfect, immaculate _Karin_," she spit out her sisters name.

Sakura jumped. She felt like an intruder on a private moment of grief, but she couldn't leave.

"Karin always got everything when we were little; our parent's devotion and love, the position as Ino-sama's right hand. I hated it—hated her. I was always less than her, always second best." The girl forced herself to turn around; to Sakura surprise there was a shine in her eyes that hinted at tears.

"And then I met Sasuke-sama and he didn't mind I was second born," she looked at her shoes. "That I was second best. He valued me simply for my skills. I also met Suigetsu and like a dumbass I couldn't help but fall in love."

Sakura stood uselessly on the other side of the room. Tayuya felt a million miles away.

"And then, of course, fate decided to go and make _them_ fiancés." The teen ran her fingers harshly through her hair. "I was so bitter, so furiously angry that I couldn't help but step in that day…"

The memory of Karin attacking Tayuya was still easily fresh in her mind and the girl nodded mindlessly.

"Orochimaru-sama had ordered me to protect you, and I will always do so, of course…but I wanted freedom. I wanted away from that place. For good." Tayuya smiled at Sakura, "course, it's not so easy to get away from Suigetsu."

Sakura nodded in sympathy, but then seized on something just said. "W-Wait—Orochimaru ordered you?"

"Well, first it was Sasuke-sama complaining you weren't safe enough, and then Kahoko-dono imploring Orochimaru-sama to keep you guarded…"

Sakura was beginning to see a clear pattern imprinting itself in this house. The terrifying image she'd had of Orochimaru's home life was completely torn apart. No matter how much she feared him, she didn't know if she'd ever be able to completely forget how easily Kahoko had wrapped him around her teeny little fingers.

"Hey, Sakura," Tayuya piped up, breaking her train of thought.

"Mm?"

"Thanks. For letting me vent."

The girl smiled shyly, feeling warmed. Happiness threatened to swamp her completely. Forcing it down she replied quietly, "thank you, too, f-for letting me hear."

Tayuya smiled—a true, soft thing—that made her seem so much prettier than she ever had. She was, Sakura told herself, being mean, _much_ prettier than Karin!

**oOo**

Temari came around an hour later, apologizing profusely, though she never really explained in full why she'd been so very late. Sakura didn't mind, though, knowing it was probably something she didn't want to worry Sakura over. Or it was something she still _couldn't_ tell her.

Kahoko and Tayuya walked them out to the car, Kahoko making Sakura promise to come back and visit her soon—hinting that Sasuke would be more than happy to bring her. Temari withheld her dissaproval of that idea. Sakura, happy by the invitation back, hesitantly mentioned her Valentine's Day performance with the band, extending the invitation to Kahoko as she had with Kushina.

The woman seemed immensely happy to receive the invitation and agreed without hesitation. Sakura figured it was as good a time as any to mention to Tayuya—who'd looked unhappy at the mention of the dance—that Naruto didn't have a partner and that she'd suggested they go together. The redhead seemed less than pleased at the idea, but there was relief hidden behind her façade.

She didn't want to go alone.

Sakura settled back in her car seat as Temari drove them home, asking questions about her day and seeming happy that Sakura had enjoyed her stay.

Temari was wearing her hair down, something Sakura had not yet seen. She was also wearing pajama bottoms and a loose t-shirt that looked as though it'd been around a long time. Sakura had never seen her look so sloppy before and it made her wonder even more what she'd been doing previously. Afraid, after the trust Kahoko had shown, that Temari wouldn't want to speak to Sakura about it, she held her tongue.

If Temari was worried by how little they spoke, unlike usual, she didn't mention it. She kept her eyes on the road as they neared suburban Konohagakure once more. Only when they were closing in on Sakura's house did she venture towards conversation.

"You're wearing the sweater. It looks good on you; I knew it would."

Sakura glanced down at the blue material, having forgotten she was wearing it. "Oh. Y-Yes, I like it very much."

The blonde smiled at her, "good. I'm glad for that, Sakura. I want you to be happy."

They were silent for a moment before Sakura opened her mouth with the intention to flat out ask where Temari had been and what she'd been doing. She closed it, panic seizing her throat and robbing her lungs of oxygen. The car stopped in front of her house. The lights were on in the front sitting room and Sakura knew Hikari was in there, waiting patiently for Sakura to come home and talk about her day.

"I'll s-see you at school," she told Temari quietly and fled the car. She didn't look back as she went into the house, feeling sick and terrible for how she'd acted. Inside, Hikari opened her arms and Sakura fell into them. Her mother didn't ask why she cried; only held her until she stopped and walked her into the kitchen for a cup of tea.

* * *

Chapter notes, chapter notes~~Hmm, I turned nineteen on the fourteenth. And then promptly had to work all day and go to school for the remainder of the night. Happy birthday, indeed. This chapter was late thanks to MoonVeil's computer becoming diseased and then Moon herself having a very serious health scare.

But we're all feeling better now, and there's a new chapter—I'm glad Kahoko's finally here, though a little nervous at the reactions to her. She's got an important role in the future, so I hope you all like her.

I'm sad to say the likelihood of an update coming in June is slim to none, since Moon's going to Virginia to play with a friend. On that note—is anyone going to **Anime Mid-Atlantic**? If you are, you should go hangout with Moon and get some pictures for me!

I had hoped to be going as well, but I ended up having no money and no time. Meh. Screw college!

Shout-outs: **MelodysFall** (I admit defeat; I've fallen in love with you, I'm afraid. Yes, I do come home smelling like coffee—my whole apartment smells like it, since I drink it constantly, too. FF13 rocks, I vote muffins, banana nut preferably!) — **sachiko haruki **(:dies laughing: Omgosh, I seriously love reading your reviews! Have a cookie for being totally awesome.) — **mizu-benten** (It's okay, I still love you!) — **silent nox2** (Moon says thank you for the birthday wishes, and put like that, how I can I NOT take a theft as a compliment? Thank you so much for the review, it made me really happy reading it ;D)

If you're going to AMA mention it in your review so I can tell Moon to find you and get some pictures. Everyone else, don't kill me for making Orochimaru OOC. He needed it. D:

*is shot*


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